SacBee: Gavin Newsom signs bill to rush spending on California wildfire prevention as drought sets in

April 15, 2021

SacBee: California is adding more than half a billion dollars in wildfire prevention spending this year after Gov. Gavin Newsom formally approved the money Tuesday ahead of the state’s peak fire season.

Under the legislation, the state will spend $536 million on preventing fires through forest and vegetation management, clearing fuel around rural homes and retrofitting buildings in high-risk areas to help them survive fires.

Newsom, a Democrat, has promised that this year his administration will focus on preventing fires with “a greater sense of urgency than ever in contemporary California history.”

...“This early investment throughout the state will help prepare us for another devastating wildfire season,” Sen. Susan Rubio, D-Baldwin Park, said. “We know that the seasons are getting longer and more devastating, and we’ve all experienced them closer and closer to home.”