Gov. Brown orders major offensive against wildfire threat
By Peter Fimrite May 10, 2018 Updated: May 10, 2018 8:29pm
Gov. Jerry Brown, alarmed by reports that climate change is dramatically increasing fire risk, on Thursday ordered an all-out attack by scientists, land managers, industry and the public on the dangerous conditions that helped spread last year’s devastating wildfires.
The executive order will launch a slate of projects to improve forest conditions and increase fire protection, including a doubling of the amount of land managed by controlled burns, tree thinning and other forest-management tactics.
The extra work would be financed with $96 million the governor is proposing in his May budget revision, to be released Friday. The money would augment the $160 million in cap-and-trade revenue that he has previously proposed spending for forest improvements and fire protection in the 2018-19 fiscal year. The spending would have to be approved by the Legislature.
