Governor Gavin Newsom states that California is facing an extreme danger of fire threat



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  • California Governor Gavin Newsom said on Friday that there is a state of emergency in the forest fires.
  • The order will accelerate the completion of 35 priority projects to reduce fuel consumption.
  • The order allows the state to enter into an aid contract without the usual calling conditions.
  • It also suspends environmental rules.

California Governor Gavin Newsom on Friday declared a state of emergency regarding forest fires, evoking an "extreme peril" for life and property, with the aim of speeding up clearing measures.

The executive order responds to the recommendations of the California Department of Forests and Fire Protection, earlier this month, to carry out 35 priority projects to reduce fuel consumption.

"The growing risks of forest fire that we face as a state mean that we simply can not wait for a fire to begin to deploy emergency resources." . ", "Newsom said in a statement, the Sacramento Bee reported. "California needs sustained attention and immediate action to better protect our communities."

The order allows the state to enter into an aid contract to clear forests without the usual tendering conditions and to suspend environmental rules.

With this declaration, the governor hopes to complete the 35 priority projects to reduce fuel consumption. recommended by Cal Fire before the peak of the forest fire season in the fall.

(MORE: California: Forest Fires: New Report Identifies 35 Priority Projects to Reduce Fuel Consumption)

Today's priority projects and emergency declaration respond to the most deadly and destructive consecutive fire seasons of 2017 and 2018, during which more than 150 people died and dozens thousands of buildings were destroyed.

In November, the camp fire killed 85 people, making it the deadliest of the state and wiped out the city of Paradise.

The priority projects cover about 147 km2 in areas close to Big Sur, Orinda, Aptos, Woodside and Los Gatos. Also included are areas near the town of Redding, devastated by the murderer Carr Fire last year, and in Butte County, where Paradise is located.

Critics of this plan fear that the state will eliminate too many trees, which could cause damage. to the environment, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Studies have shown that wooded areas of large trees generally burn more slowly and less warm than areas largely cleared.

A study published last year by Harold Zald, an assistant professor of surveying and forest biometrics at Humboldt State University, revealed that logging sites located on the border between California and the United States. Oregon had one of the highest fire intensities.

"Have bigger trees and a more complex fuel structure, associated with a naturally regenerating forest, will have a lower fire intensity, "Zald told the San Francisco Chronicle.

In a statement provided to weather.com, Shaye Wolf, director of climate science at the Center for Biological Diversity, said the organization "shares Governor Newsom's desire to take urgent action against forest fires. but that for decades, no damaging strategy based on logging has been implemented … keeping Californians safe. "

"Cal Fire removes forests away from areas inhabited by most Californians and areas that are at high risk of fire fires," she added. "The governor should reject this destructive and destructive approach and allocate funds to proven fire safety strategies such as modernizing homes and improving the defensible space around them."

The 28-page report excludes some risk areas such as Sonoma and Napa counties and much of southern California. Chad Hanson, an environmentalist studying fire recovery through the John Muir project, told weather.com earlier this month because the focus is on high-altitude forest lands.

"This explicitly excludes communities that are not located in forests, but the majority of California's most exposed communities are in grasslands, chaparral and oak forests, and not in forests," he said. he declares.

Newsom announced on Friday that it also was reserving about $ 24 million from this year's budget to inform residents of six counties exposed to fires about fire prevention and educate them. An additional $ 12 million is earmarked for local and regional response teams and $ 13 million will be used to fund a public awareness campaign.

Grants will also be available for groups that help domestic animals and livestock during disasters, the governor said.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, there have been only two other state-wide emergencies in California during this century: during the 2014 drought and the destruction of trees in 2015 , who followed.

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