USA: California tests new strategies to prevent deadly wildfires

By Anne C. Mulkern

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San Francisco-based PG&E shut off power to 27,500 Northern California residents last Monday and then 48,200 more on Wednesday. Winds had kicked up and the humidity dropped, increasing the odds that tree branches or other vegetation could knock down power lines and ignite fires.

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The shut-off plan comes as the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) works on 35 priority fire prevention projects. Those include clearing brush near highways and removing dead trees near communities in the “wildland urban interface.”

The projects are covered by Newsom’s environmental waiver. In March, the governor declared a state of emergency that exempted the projects from the California Environmental Quality Act, a law mandating an in-depth analysis of a development’s impacts on land, water, species and other elements.

Clearances under CEQA can take months or years, Newsom aides said. State officials argued they’re still conducting analyses to ensure projects don’t hurt species or natural or tribal resources.

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The state should fund incentives or grants to ensure people have asphalt shingle roofs, which are more fire-resistant, he said. There could be funding to help people seal gutters and attic vents so embers can’t get inside.

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