As California cools, federal government poised to pass last-minute laws to address wildfires
Congressional measures that could help California with wildfire prevention and mitigation are poised to become law in the final days of this legislative session.
One of those laws could get California more planes to fight fires, a change Gov. Gavin Newsom and California senators discussed with White House officials in July. Another would ensure the federal agency charged with responding to natural disasters treats wildfires with the same level of urgency as it does hurricanes.
A bill pushed by California Sen. Alex Padilla eliminates the cap on extra military planes that the Department of Defense can transfer in a year to an agency or state for wildfire suppression through the National Defense Authorization Act.
Padilla, a Democrat, said eliminating the cap — currently seven planes per agency — would “improve our ability to fight increasingly catastrophic wildfires in California and across the West by growing our federal aerial firefighting fleets on the front lines of wildfires.”
The measure also allows states to acquire the aircraft directly, rather than through an agency, and requires an annual report on the number of planes transferred each year.
Padilla, Newsom and California Sen. Dianne Feinstein met with Department of Defense and Biden administration officials to discuss removing the cap at no cost to the Federal Emergency Management Agency or the U.S. Forest Service.
“I want to thank Senator Padilla for his leadership and doggedness on this issue after our joint meeting with the White House and Department of Defense in July,” Newsom said in a statement about the measure’s inclusion.
“This bill has the potential to be transformative for California’s efforts to protect communities from catastrophic wildfire by working in partnership with the federal government to expand access to firefighting aircraft,” he said.
Another measure poised to become law updates the law that governs FEMA, the Stafford Act, to improve its response to wildfires. That includes damage that is unique to wildfires, like melted infrastructure and burnt debris.
Mark Ghilarducci, Director of the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, said the act was “a critical step forward in modernizing how the federal government works with states, like California, to prepare for, respond to and recover from catastrophic wildfires and other disasters.”
The FIRE Act, and introduced by Padilla in the Senate, ensures that FEMA can pre-deploy firefighting assets based on indications of high fire risks, such as red flag warnings, like it does for hurricanes.
“Wildfire assistance should not be treated as less important than hurricanes, tornadoes or floods,” said Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-San Jose, who sponsored the bill in the U.S. House of Representatives, “and our bill importantly improves and brings parity to FEMA’s efforts by focusing on disaster-specific needs.”
The law will also help FEMA’s case management services for relocation assistance, especially for disadvantaged communities, and enforces equal access to funding for tribal communities.
Ultimately, it aims to speed up federal assistance for those in need as wildfires grow in prevalence and strength.
According to Cal Fire, 362,478 acres burned in California in 2022, a lighter fire season than in recent years.
This story was originally published December 14, 2022 at 10:06 AM.
CORRECTION: Earlier editions of this story incorrectly reported that the bills have become law. They have not.
