California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a law providing $180 million for wildfire prevention efforts like prescribed burns and vegetation management. This funding follows catastrophic wildfires in January and is part of a broader budget bill that includes various Democratic initiatives. The money, sourced from Proposition 4, a $1.5 billion bond for climate projects, will support six conservancies and $10 million for fire response training for the Karuk Tribe. Critics, notably Republicans, argue that funding for wildfire prevention remains insufficient despite these allocations.
The bill, introduced by Democratic Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel of Encino, also includes a laundry list of Democratic priorities, from electric vehicle incentives to grants for Native tribes in California to investigate cases of missing and murdered indigenous people.
With this latest round of funding, we're continuing to increase the speed and size of forest and vegetation management essential to protecting communities, Newsom said in a press release.
California Republicans have long claimed that Newsom and Democrats under-fund wildfire prevention efforts. But Democrats in the state Assembly passed the bill on a nearly party-line vote last week.
The funds come from Proposition 4, a $1.5 billion bond approved by California voters in November for climate and conservation projects.
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