SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Watching good fire get to work, Battalion Chief Bret Swearengin with the Cal Fire Amador-El Dorado Unit said the flames moving up the hill are laying important groundwork to burn away wildfire fuel.
“If you were here right now, you could see that there’s 6 to 8 inches of pine needles and duff that just holds a lot of heat,” Swearengin said. “It gets up in the trees in the canopy, and that can create a large fire that’s much harder to contain a control.”
Fire mitigation efforts like prescribed burns Swearengin said need many hands-on deck to make sure it happens safely.
“It does take a lot of manpower and a lot of resources,” he said.
Making sure enough funds and resources are available to help mitigate the effects of natural disasters in the state, such as wildfires, has come into the national spotlight.
President-elect Donald Trump twice in recent months highlighted his possible intention to withhold federal funding, due disagreements with Gov. Gavin Newsom’s handling of water in the state.
“We’re going to take care of your water situation,” said President-elect Trump at a rally in Coachella in October. “We’ll force it down his throat (Gov. Newsom) and we’ll say, Gavin, if you don’t do it, we’re not giving you any of that fire money that we send you all the time for all the forest fires.”
FEMA provides important funding for fighting fires as well as recovery efforts for California.
After 2020s record-breaking wildfires in the state, FEMA approved more than $700 million in assistance.
When these types of events occur, it’s very important to have federal assistance said political analyst Paul Mitchell.
“We have our own state funds around insurance or other things on the margins,” Mitchell said. “But, you know, a massive wildfire like we saw when the town of Paradise burned down requires federal engagement.”
It’s part of the reason Gov. Newsom has called a special session to make sure, as he said, enough funds are available to help ‘Trump-Proof’ the state.
Something state republicans like state GOP Assembly leader James Gallagher in a statement said of Newsom’s special session is a political stunt and something to put attention back onto the governor.
And while Swearengin said Cal Fire would love to do more prescribed burns to help mitigate large fires.
“We always want to do more,” Swearengin said. “I mean, that’s the goal is to get as much as we can done, as safely as we can.”
He said, though, it’s not just about manpower, but also what the weather will allow.