California governor Gavin Newsom is under fire following a report revealing that the state’s latest budget slashed over $100 million from wildfire and forest resilience programs, even as devastating fires continue to ravage the state.
The budget, signed in June 2024 and covering the 2024-25 fiscal year, eliminated $101 million across seven critical programs, according to a Newsweek report. The cuts come amidst ongoing wildfires in California, which have already destroyed over 10,000 structures in the Los Angeles area and remain uncontained.
Key budget cuts:
$28 million: Reduced funding for state conservancies that enhance wildfire resilience.
$12 million: Removed from a “home hardening” experiment designed to protect homes from fires.
$8 million: Slashed from monitoring and research initiatives, primarily affecting Cal Fire and state universities.
$5 million: Cut from Cal Fire’s fuel reduction teams, including funds for vegetation management by the California National Guard.
$4 million: Decrease in the Forest Legacy Program, which supports landowner forest management.
$3 million: Reduction in funding for an inter-agency forest data hub.
Critics have raised concerns over the timing and scale of the cuts, given the increasing intensity and frequency of wildfires in California. The state has faced mounting pressure to strengthen its wildfire resilience programs in response to the climate crisis.
Newsom administration responds
Newsom’s director of communications, Izzy Gardon, dismissed the criticism as a “ridiculous lie,” asserting that the governor has significantly bolstered firefighting resources and forest management efforts during his tenure.
“The governor has doubled the size of our firefighting army, built the world’s largest aerial firefighting fleet, and increased forest management tenfold since taking office,” Gardon said in a statement to Fox News Digital on Friday night.
Gardon highlighted broader increases in spending and personnel since Newsom took office in 2019, though the statement did not directly address the specific reductions outlined in the 2024-25 budget.
Rising concerns amid fire season
The budget cuts have sparked alarm among wildfire experts and affected communities. The reductions come at a time when California is grappling with worsening wildfire conditions fueled by prolonged droughts and rising temperatures.
As the wildfires continue to burn, the debate over the state’s commitment to combating the crisis remains heated.
