Wilson Distributes Firefighting Funds
Gov. Pete Wilson on Monday distributed the first installment of $18.3 million meant to defray the costs of fighting Southern California’s recent wildfires at a ceremony in Burbank on Monday.
The bulk of the funds went to the Los Angeles County Fire Department, said governor’s spokeswoman Beth Miller. Other recipients were fire departments in Orange County, Ventura County, Los Angeles city and Laguna Beach.
The California Department of Forestry received $4.9 million from the federal government, Miller said.
The money comes from a combination of $15 million in federal funds and just more than $3.3 million in state money, she said. It will go to pay for the more than 6,000 people, hundreds of firetrucks and 42 aircraft mobilized to fight the fires--the largest deployment of firefighting apparatus in the state’s history.
Wilson also announced that an Internal Review Team, under the auspices of the state fire marshal, would evaluate the state’s response to the fires.
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