Editorial

Burning through money

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger says Californians shouldn't worry about firefighting costs, but the state's fiscal situation indicates that we should.
November 18, 2008

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As fires continued to engulf homes and threaten more Los Angeles and Orange County neighborhoods over the weekend, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Californians shouldn't worry, for now, about the $11 billion that the state has to find in taxes or program cuts in the current fiscal year. Despite the almost incomprehensible budget problem, he said, California won't have to skimp on fighting fires because of a $1.7-billion reserve built into the budget for exactly this kind of emergency. That's enough to keep the water-dropping aircraft flying and the firefighters on the front lines fully equipped.

The "extra" cushion of $1.7 billion is reassuring, but only up to a point. That fund is needed for all kinds of contingencies, and as this year's fires burn through acreage, they are burning almost as quickly through the fund. State fire suppression costs since July 1 already reached $304 million by the end of September, well before the most recent and destructive Sylmar, Freeway Complex and Montecito fires. Compare that with the $206-million cost for the entire year of 2006-07.

Schwarzenegger built this year's reserve on cuts from the general fund. Each of those cuts hurt, depriving seniors, for example, of their full share of renters' assistance and keeping counties from being able to test water quality at beaches. The state now faces deeper and more fundamental cuts. They can be avoided only by raising taxes -- or by leaving the state unprepared for an earthquake, terrorist attack or more fires. The fast-moving blazes that began during the weekend and are still burning should remind lawmakers, now meeting in special session, that they can not simply shrug their shoulders and hope that things work themselves out. Disaster won't wait for the state's fiscal situation to improve.

Deadlock on the budget last year helped divert attention from a Schwarzenegger proposal to fund emergency response with assessments on homeowners through their insurance policies. The plan needed some work, and the governor and some lawmakers were giving it their attention. But with the time-frittering nonnegotiations about whether to tax or cut, the work didn't get done.

California will have more fires. Development continues in fire-prone wilderness areas, and prolonged drought keeps much of the state tinder dry. There have been on average just under 6,000 fires each year in areas served by Cal Fire, the state firefighting agency, but this year there already have been 9,600. The state has to respond with better fire codes and a just way to spread the financial costs. But more than anything, it needs to get its fiscal house in order.





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1. We won't have drought conditions forever. One of these years we'll have a rainy season where it actually rains. When that happens and the mudslides start, where will we get our money for mudslide clean up? Does the government have money set aside for that too? Or does it come out of whatever is left of the fire fund?
Submitted by: J
2:56 PM PST, Nov 18, 2008
 
2. The cost of wildland fire fighting and the speed of control could be changed by using Liquid Nitrogen methods of AirWArs Defense lp. Both CAL-FIRE Training Chief Kevin Olson and Governor Schwarzenegger know of this environmentally green technology. AirWars is un-funded - a woman inventor's plight - and neither California nor Ohio will fork up the needed $25,000. Funders do not provide what government should. If anyone wants a change with the next round of fires by using new methods, contact DenyseDBQ@aol.com for further information. It will save the state money and the residents their homes, businesses and beautiful wildlands.
Submitted by: Denyse DuBrucq
8:04 AM PST, Nov 18, 2008
 
3. I agree California needs to get its fiscal house in order. Definitely; they need to understand that fires are an annual event, and they need to plan for this annual event by including the cost of fighting these fires in the budget. We also need to include the cost of persecuting those caught starting fires. And we need to strengthen the punishment of these arsonists so it's less likely to occur due to arson. Thanks.
Submitted by: Emily Hockett
1:54 AM PST, Nov 18, 2008
 
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