Cal Fire Burns Through Annual Funding Ahead Of Peak Wildfire Season
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Despite the peak months of the 2014 wildfire season still to come, Cal Fire has already burned through its budget for fighting major fires.
KNX 1070's Pete Demetriou reports in the wake of the Kings Fire and a number of other blazes statewide, the state of California has spent all of its $209 million allocated for emergency firefighting.
Jump In Statewide Brush Fires Burns Through Cal Fire Funding Ahead Of Peak Wildfire Season
After more than 1,000 brush fires above average happening so far this year, California's Department of Finance is reportedly set to transfer $70 million in reserves to help bolster emergency funding for the weeks and months ahead.
Daniel Berlant, Chief Public Information officer for Cal Fire said that the annual budget request was based on historical averages in a season that's turning out to be anything but average.
"Over the next several months, depending on how fire activity goes for the winter, we'll continue to provide projections," said Berlant. "If that amount changes, obviously we'll work closely with the Legislature and the Department of Finance to ensure that that emergency fund has what it needs."
The massive two-week-old Kings Fire has burned nearly 152 square miles of a heavily forested region east of Sacramento. Firefighters had the blaze about 90 percent contained as of Tuesday.
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