Sen. Dodd: LAO Report Shows Strong Wildfire Safety Investment

SACRAMENTO – With record wildfires raging across California, Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, today issued the following statement on a Legislative Analyst’s Office report detailing California’s significant investment in wildfire prevention, response and recovery.

“We have done more to address wildfires in just the last few years than has been done in all the last few decades,” said Sen. Dodd, who has written more than a dozen wildfire safety bills since 2018. “But because climate change is driving more frequent and destructive blazes, we must redouble our efforts. I’ll be working on that in the coming months with the governor and my legislative colleagues. Our investment today will help save lives, homes and money for tomorrow.”

The LAO report issued today shows California is dedicating an estimated $3.3 billion dollars to wildfire safety measures in 2020-21, up from $800 million 15 years ago. A link to the report is here: https://lao.ca.gov/handouts/resources/2020/State-Spending-on-Wildfire-Prevention-and-Mitigation.pdf

Key areas of investment include wildfire response, with the state devoting nearly $500 million to purchase more air tankers, firefighting Blackhawk helicopters and state-of-the-art fire engines. At the same time, the state is allocating $230 million to prevention by funding forest management programs and grants, controlled burns and vegetation clearing programs.

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Senator Bill Dodd represents the 3rd Senate District, which includes all or portions of Napa, Yolo, Sonoma, Solano, Sacramento and Contra Costa counties. More information on Senator Bill Dodd can be found at www.senate.ca.gov/dodd.