This year’s wildfires were a wake-up call for the Pacific Northwest and California to increase their prevention and response budgets. The 2020 wildfire season was record-setting, with the National Interagency Fire Center reporting by the end of November, 52,113 wildfires had burned 8,889,297 acres in the West. This is approximately 2.3 million more acres burned than the 10-year average and almost double the acreage burned in the 2019 season.
As a result of the continued increase in the prevalence of wildfires, the states’ governors have called for increases in spending for 2021 during their state of the state addresses. While some state budgets are biennial, here are some of the highlights of budget changes for the 2021 fiscal year.
California
According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CalFire), the state’s firefighting agency, California saw a record-breaking wildfire season with close to 4.3 million acres burned, resulting in 10,488 structures burned and 33 lives lost in 2020.
Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) earlier this month unveiled his 2021-22 state spending plan. The $227 billion budget includes significant investments in forest health programs and prescribed burning.
The governor’s proposed budget calls for an increase of $1 billion “to increase forest and community resiliency against the threat of wildfire.” The monies include:
• $512 million in funding for landscape resilience and prescribed burns;
• $335 million to complete 45 to 65 annual fuel break projects for several years and to provide grants for local fire plans;
• $113 million to protect fire-vulnerable communities, including $75 million in federal matching funds;
• $76 million to boost job and economic opportunities through forest management job training including $50 million for the Climate Catalyst Fund to support climate-smart agriculture loans to advance climate change-related projects; and
• $38 million to “incorporate best-available science into predictive models and resilience investments.”
The budget also makes available monies from the state’s Cap-and-Trade program to fund CalFire’s forest health and fire prevention programs for the next five years. Included in the program is a proposal for prescribed burning of 500,000 acres annually beginning this year.
According to the League of California Cities, Newsom’s budget also includes “$256 million to the California Office of Emergency Services (CalOES) to fund the California Disaster Assistance Account (CDAA). The CDAA assists local governments to serve their communities in the wake of emergency events.” A total of $25 million will support CalFire and CalOES to harden homes in high-fire prone areas for low-income residents.
Washington
According to Wildfire Today, Washington state experienced its worst wildfires in several years, with 812,000 acres burning the state, more than four times the average in the 2000s. In eastern Washington, 80 percent of the town of Malden was destroyed, resulting in the loss of 121 homes, eight commercial properties and 94 other structures by the Babb-Malden Fire in September 2020.
Gov. Jay Inslee’s (D) proposed budget for 2021-2023 calls for a $26.8 million bond for forest hazard reduction “through fuels reduction, thinning, fuel break creation and prescribed burning.” An additional $928,000 would maintain the state’s Fire Training Academy. Inslee’s budget also calls for a $428 million climate policy package as he has previously stated, “it was unmistakable that the effects of climate change were helping the fires start easier, spread faster, and last longer.”
A bill was introduced earlier this month, HB1168, which would allocate $125 million for the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to create for the first time a dedicated fund to suppress and mitigate wildfires over the next two-year period.
Of those funds, $75.2 million would assist in wildfire response with the purchase of two fixed-wing aircraft and upgrade the department’s aging Huey helicopters with night-flying capabilities. The monies would also allow the department to hire an additional 100 more firefighters, including three 20-person hand crews, 20 dozer operators, and two 10-person “post-release” crews of formerly incarcerated persons who previously served on state fire response crews.
Monies would also be allocated to fully fund the DNR’s 20-Year Forest Health Strategic Plan for wildfire resistance to 1.25 million acres. Lastly, the bill would direct $12.6 million for communities’ defensive strategies by building firebreaks, prescribed fires, and helping homeowners secure their property through the FireWise program.
Oregon
In December last year, Gov. Kate Brown (D) released the state’s biennium budget for 2021-2023 during her State of the State address. The budget calls for $31.8 million for the State Fire Marshall program, a 7.6 percent increase from the previous budget. Brown has also asked for $47.0 million in Lottery Bonds for wildfire recovery projects due to the recent Labor Day wildfires.
Oregon simultaneously had 13 fires that either started or grew on Sept. 7 and 8, with five fires greater than 100,000 acres in size and eight other large fires greater than 1,000 acres. Oregon had nearly 1 million acres burning with just these 13 fires, making it the second-largest annual burned acreage in Oregon, according to Wildfire Today.
The governor’s budget for the Oregon Department of Forestry is $438.5 million, a 12.8 percent increase. This includes $171 million for the state’s fire prevention program, which protects 16 million acres of forest and rangeland. In addition, $8.0 million would be set aside for a Special Purpose Appropriation in the Emergency Fund budget to pay for severity resources and catastrophic fire insurance premiums.
In response to wildfire damage, the budget calls for a $135 million Special Purpose Appropriation (SPA) for wildfire recovery and an additional $40 million SPA to address recommendations from the governor’s Council on Wildfire Response.
Additionally, the budget allocates slightly over $2.3 million for the state’s Natural Resources Program, which will fund various projects, including wildfire recommendations. Lastly, it sets aside $40 million in the emergency fund to address recommendations from the Governor’s Council on Wildfire Response.
Earlier this month, the state’s lawmakers approved $17 million for the Office of State Fire Marshal and the Oregon Department of Forestry to invest in wildfire prevention and preparedness programs. A large portion, $13 million, would go to the Department of Forestry for new positions and to increase seasonal positions, and $5 million would go to purchase a “next-generation” air tanker, two single-engine aircraft and a heavy-duty helicopter. — Charles Wallace, WLJ editor
