In 2020 alone California had...
California is beautifully unique. But our landscapes need increased management now to secure a resilient future for the Golden State.
Decades of land mismanagement paired with climate change have led to California facing year-round fire seasons and the state breaking records for wildfires. Along with destroyed landscapes, Californians now are suffering consequences from these blazes including threatened health, lives lost, unaffordable insurance and more frequent power shutoffs.
It will take all of us to make positive steps towards diminishing this wildfire crisis, but through solutions such as prescribed burns and increased use of grazing to reduce the amount of fuels on our rangelands, we believe the Golden State can become more fire resilient for ALL Californians.
Scroll through this site to see how we can make positive steps towards diminishing California’s wildfire crisis and why we must do so now.
LATEST UPDATES
As we work to build a more fire resilient California follow us on social media for the latest news and updates surrounding California’s wildfire crisis and action being taken to solve it.
HOW WE GOT HERE
Read the full article from the Record Searchlight
These California groups want state to spend $1.5 billion on wildfire prevention in 2021
CLIMATE CHANGE
Click in the sections below to see how climate change is contributing to the growing wildfire crisis and how drought, unhealthy forests and unmanaged fuels are all part of the problem.
POOR MANAGEMENT
“The primary lesson is this: Because we are confronted with climate-driven dangers beyond our immediate control, coupled with decades of management that has left our forests and rangelands in an unnatural state, we must take urgent action to address those things we can control – forest health, the condition of our landscapes and the resiliency of communities in fire-prone areas.”
Read the CalMatter’s oped
For Forests Resilient To Wildfire, The Time To Act Is Now
“Of the nearly 400,000 acres the resources agency says were treated in the last fiscal year, work by Cal Fire crews constituted only 55,000 acres — and just half of that was prescribed fire. Community grant projects, such as fuel break construction, represented another 35,000 acres.”
“As the governor noted upon the approval of the first COVID-19 vaccines, ‘hope is on the horizon’ in turning back this pandemic. Unfortunately, there is no hope of immunizing California from the harm of catastrophic wildfires. The best medicine we have to minimize their harm is to improve the health of our landscapes. It must be an urgent priority.”
Read the CalMatter’s oped
For Forests Resilient To Wildfire, The Time To Act Is Now
THE CONSEQUENCES
Known for its beautiful climates, as the home of Hollywood, and for its colorful history including the gold rush, California is now becoming infamously known for the challenges of living with wildfires. Today, Californians are having to adjust to living with the realities that are present in the state due to extreme wildfires. Just weeks into 2021, residents of the Golden State were already facing power shutdowns sparked by dangerous weather conditions. Securing affordable insurance and fears looming of being dropped by insurance companies are ongoing. To top it off, new research is showing just how dangerous the smoke from these out of control wildfires is to the health of millions.
Explore this section below to take a further look at these consequences.
HEALTH THREATENED
“If we learned anything from the air-quality crisis that choked much of California a few months ago, it is that we need to be much more proactive about burning under conditions of our choosing, rather than to allow uncontrolled wildfires to burn largely on the hottest, driest and windiest days of the year.”
Read the CalMatter’s oped
For Forests Resilient To Wildfire, The Time To Act Is Now
LIVES LOST
“I cry for the forest, the trees and streams, and the horrible deaths suffered by the wildlife and our cattle. The suffering was unimaginable. When you find groups of cows and their baby calves tumbled in a ravine trying to escape, burned almost beyond recognition, you try not to wretch. You only pray death was swift.”
Read I cry for the mountains and the legacy lost, The Bear Fire to hear about the devastating loss of life and land a Butte County rancher faced in 2020.
LIFESTYLES CHANGED
- Insurance Skyrocketing
- Power Outages Increasing
“The California Department of Insurance in October reported that refusals from home insurers to renew policies rose by 31 percent statewide in 2019, and that percentage jumped to 61 percent in ZIP codes with elevated fire risk,” according to a New York Times story from Jan. 15, 2021.
“At the height of what should be California’s rainy season, PG&E Corp. is warning it might need to shut off power to thousands of customers to reduce the risk of a wildfire,” The Sacramento Bee reported on Jan. 17, 2021.
SOLUTIONS
“Two top academic natural resources experts believe it’s time for government and private enterprise to get serious about managing lands by eliminating barriers to additional prescribed burns and more grazing.”
Read the North Bay Business Journal’s
Lack of grazing, prescribed burns adds fuel to California’s wildfires, say experts and stakeholders
MORE PRESCRIBED FIRES
“There’s only one solution, the one we know yet still avoid. ‘We need to get good fire on the ground and whittle down some of that fuel load.’”
Read They Know How to Prevent Megafires. Why Won’t Anybody Listen? from ProPublica to learn more about how increased use of prescribed fires could alleviate the crisis in California.
“Desperate for a solution, states are finding that lighting a fire can be a good way of preventing one.
“A growing army of experts argues that ‘prescribed fire’ — planned, deliberate burns — can reduce the volume of combustible vegetation from parched landscapes and ease a crisis gripping the western third of the country.”
INCREASED GRAZING
Research studies have proven livestock grazing has the power to mitigate impacts of wildfires through reducing fire spread and intensity by minimizing fuel loads and increasing fuel moisture. One cow can consume approximately 27 pounds of forage per day, about 5 tons per year—5 tons which instead could be fuel for California’s next catastrophic wildfire.
With direct emissions from beef cattle equating to only 2% of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, grazing can allow for a more resilient California.
What else is being said about prescribed fires & grazing?
The critical need for implementing solutions and creating change is unquestionable.
CALL TO ACTION
These solutions are steps towards building a more fire resilient California, but it is going to take all of us to create these changes. Start by using your voice now.
STEPS YOU CAN TAKE TO BE PART OF THE SOLUTION:
1. Share one or more of the posts from our social media platforms below.
2. Email the link to this site or an article from this page to a friend or key opinion leader.
3. Follow us on social media to keep up with our mission to see steps towards increasing land management in the state now to secure a resilient future for all Californians.
STEPS YOU CAN TAKE TO BE PART OF THE SOLUTION:
1. Share one or more of the posts from our social media platforms below.
2. Email the link to this site or an article from this page to a friend or key opinion leader.
3. Follow us on social media to keep up with our mission to see steps towards increasing land management in the state now to secure a resilient future for all Californians.
