Tag "Cal Fire"
Back to homepage
Push to promote ‘defensible space’ in homes at fire risk faulted
After the deadliest and most destructive four-year stretch of wildfires in modern California history, Gov. Gavin Newsom took office in January determined to escalate state efforts to limit fire threats and to adopt safer building and fire maintenance practices. Within
Read More
With brutal fire season expected, fight over how to respond has never stopped
California’s perilous experiences with massive wildfires reached an all-time peak in 2017, as the state suffered through its worst blaze in recorded history – the Thomas Fire – and five of its 17 worst fires ever. State officials estimated that about 9,000 wildfires from
Read More
CA 2014 fire season: A test of government competence
The two worst wildfires in recorded state history struck San Diego County in 2003 and 2007, as I wrote about in today’s U-T San Diego. “In October 2003, the Cedar Fire … broke out in the Cleveland National Forest, started accidentally by
Read More
Judge blasts ‘corrupt’ Cal Fire in wildfire lawsuit
Superior Court Judge Leslie Nichols this month ruled that the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection repeatedly deceived and withheld evidence in a lawsuit seeking $8.1 million from a company and several landowners for a wildfire that the company
Read More
Audit uncovers embers in Cal Fire slush fund
A new state audit shows that in 2005 a secret, $3.66 million off-the-books account was established by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The Wildlife Fire Investigation Training and Equipment Fund, a private, nonprofit account, was filled through
Read MoreCA fire chiefs warn state fire tax will hurt, not help
April 12, 2013 By Dave Roberts The $89 million annual fire prevention fee imposed on rural Californians for the first time last year could, ironically, increase the chance that their houses will burn down in the event of a fire.
Read MoreLawsuit, bills seek to dowse fire tax
March 25, 2013 By Dave Roberts It hasn’t been a great year for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. In January, the Los Angeles Times revealed that for seven years Cal Fire has been hoarding a slush fund
Read MoreScandal ‘boring’? Arrogant Jerry Brown drinks his own Kool-Aid
Feb. 6, 2013 By Chris Reed Sacramento is still buzzing over a bizarre and obnoxious scandal in which state parks officials hid $54 million while pressing to close 70 parks, and along comes another scandal in which Cal Fire hides
Read More