A review of last year’s California state budget revealed that California Governor Gavin Newsom cut funding for wildfire and forest resiliency by more than $100 million.
The proposed budget signed in June and covering the 2024-25 fiscal year cuts $101 million from seven “wildfire and forest resiliency” programs, Newsweek reported.
The California Fire, which has destroyed more than 10,000 buildings in the Los Angeles area, remains uncontained.
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Firefighters battle the Kenneth Fire in the West Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles on Thursday, January 9, 2025. (Ethan Swope/Associated Press)
Including funds used to pay for vegetation management work by the California National Guard, Cal Fire has cut spending on fuel reduction teams by $5 million, the report said.
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Other changes:
Cut $28 million from multi-state conservation groups that strengthen wildfire resilience Cut $12 million from “home hardening” experiments that protect homes from wildfires Cut $8 million from monitoring and research spending (mostly (California Fire Department and state universities) Cuts $4 million from forests Legacy programs to encourage landowners to manage their properties Cuts $3 million from funding for interagency forest data hubs
California Governor Gavin Newsom, right, surveys the damage in Pacific Palisades with Cal Fire’s Nick Schuler on Wednesday, January 8, 2025, in Pacific Palisades, California. (Jeff Gritchen/Media News Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images)
Izzy Gurdon, Newsom’s communications director, called the budget cuts a “ridiculous lie” in a statement to Fox News Digital Friday night.
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“Since taking office, the governor has doubled the size of the fire service, built the world’s largest aerial firefighting team, and the state has increased forest management tenfold,” she wrote. “Facts matter.”
The devastation of the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles on Friday, January 10, 2025. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Rather than commenting on recent cuts, his office attached statistics noting the overall increase in spending and headcount over the years since taking office in 2019.
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Cal Fire had not responded to a request for comment as of 8 p.m. Friday.
Alexandra Koch is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital. Before joining Fox News, Alexandra covered breaking news, crime, religion and military in the Southeast.
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