SACRAMENTO, Calif. — On Monday, Governor Gavin Newsom highlighted new firefighting equipment and his proposed $2 billion investment in wildfire and emergency preparedness – the largest in state history.
The investment falls under the governor’s California Comeback Plan, an $100 billion budget proposal that also includes expanded Golden State Stimulus checks and rent and utility assistance.
“Today we are announcing that we are doubling our historic wildfire budget from the $1 billion we proposed in January to a now $2 billion proposal that was just submitted to the legislature last week in our emergency preparedness efforts,” Newsom said.
The governor said the California Comeback Plan investments will enable the state to take urgent action to support wildfire suppression, improve forest health and build resilience in communities to help protect residents and property from catastrophic wildfires.
This plan reportedly includes everything from purchasing new firefighting equipment to investments in land and forest management projects.
Last year was one of the most severe fire seasons on record in California. In 2021, the state is already seeing extremely dry conditions as drought conditions worsen.
The governor expanded a drought emergency declaration to 41 of California’s 58 counties on May 10 amid “acute water supply shortages” in northern and central areas. He said a further expansion is likely, especially since in the weeks following that announcement, conditions worsened; roughly 16% of the state is now in Exceptional Drought, the highest level for the U.S. Drought Monitor.
This investment will also focus on expanding fire-adapted homes and communities, improving the care of state lands, in addition to beefing up firefighter staffing.
WATCH: Gov. Newsom breaks down the Immediate Relief package.