Governor authorizes additional $12.5 million to fight wildfires
Fire crews work to contain a spreading wildfire on the outskirts of Middletown, Calif. on Monday.
Reporting from Sacramento — Gov. Jerry Brown has authorized $12.4 million in additional spending to help fight the massive wildfires raging through California.
The money, which comes from the state’s special fund for wildfire suppression, will help state firefighters battling two of California’s most treacherous blazes: the Valley fire in Lake and Napa counties, which has burned more than 61,000 acres and led to one death; and the Butte fire in Amador and Calaveras counties that has burned more than 71,000 acres.
The additional money will pay for the following:
- $1.5 million for additional firefighter staffing. This will pay for 100-150 more firefighters through December, along with their equipment.
- $8.7 million for the use of six firefighting helicopters.
- $1.6 million to replace outdated water buckets on California National Guard helicopters being used to fight the wildfires. The new buckets will allow the helicopters to retrieve water from shallow water sources, essential because the drought has dropped water levels in many lakes and reservoirs.
- $600,000 for staffing at a facility for reloading firefighting planes at the former McClellan Air Force Base near Sacramento.
The governor and Legislature had budgeted $392 million for the state’s Emergency Wildland Fire Suppression fund for the current fiscal year. As of Sept. 7, the state already has spent $212.6 million to battle fires – not including the additional $12.4 million or money spent fighting the Valley fire, said H.D. Palmer, spokesman for Brown’s Department of Finance.
Once all that money is gone, the state can dip into its $1.1-billion reserve fund for “economic uncertainties,” Palmer said. The state has the money to ensure that state firefighters will have all the resources they need to battle each and every wildfire in California, Palmer said.
Twitter: @philwillon
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