Gavin Newsom Declares ‘State of Emergency’ for Brush Clearance — Months Too Late

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (d) declared a “state of emergency” on Saturday for brush clearance ahead of peak fire season, but it was too late to save Los Angeles' destroyed communities from the Pallisard and Eton fires.

Newsom's Press statement They didn't even try to hide the fact that they came after the destructive fire in LA:

With the devastation of the Los Angeles fires and the risks of wildfires across the state, Gov. Gavin Newsom today declared an emergency situation ahead of fire season that would protect communities from wildfires.

Today's Emergency Declaration Reduces bureaucratic red tapes, including CEQA suspension [California Environmental Quality Act] And coastal law – it slows down important forest management projects. Declaration text is available here.

To protect his records, Newsom's statement created the following points:

This action is based on years of work Increase forest management Resilience to the state's wildfires. It also follows the governor's executive order signed last month. Further improvements in community stiffness A wildfire mitigation strategy to increase resilience in neighborhoods throughout the state.

…

Governor Newsom took it Similar behavior in March 2019 To promote forest management projects ahead of the particularly challenging fire seasons of 2019 and 2020.

Later in the statement, Newsom pointed out his actions in 2019 as an example of “early actions” in response to wildfires.

Capital Public Radio, a Sacramento-based public radio news network; It has been reported In 2021, Newsom was extremely exaggerating his wildfire prevention program work, but had little effect on brush clearance.

Newsom's new policy relaxes environmental rules and allows businesses to clear their brushes. We also promise to allow controlled burns (“beneficial fires”) to remove fuel that can accelerate wildfires.