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California wildfire spending topped 1 bln in 2008
2009-01-01
LOS ANGELES, (AFP) - California wildfires ravaged some 1.4 million acres (5,600 square kilometers) in 2008, costing the large western state one billion dollars, the Los Angeles Times reported. Half of the 1.4 billion dollars spent by the US Forest Service to put out wildfires each year went to California alone. "I think we've seen unprecedented fires," California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection director Ruben Grijalva told The Los Angeles Times "The solution is not just more engines, more airplanes." Hit with a second consecutive year of severe drought, California witnessed fires in Los Angeles and Santa Barbara that scorched a total of 42,000 acres (17,000 hectares), destroyed around 800 homes and forced tens of thousands of people to flee to safety. A series of about 2,000 fires in June and July burned across the state, scorching some 900,000 acres (364,230 hectares) of land. The most populated American state, California is frequently hit by wildfires due to its dry climate, Santa Ana winds and recent housing booms that have seen developments spread rapidly into rural and densely forested areas. In October 2007, California suffered devastation from wildfires among the worst in its history that left eight people dead, gutted 2,000 homes, displaced 640,000 people and caused one billion dollars in damage. Although fewer fires burned across the United States this year than last year, the Forest Service spent more in 2008 than in 2007 on fire suppression. "Not all acres are created equal," said Agriculture Undersecretary Mark Rey, who manages the Forest Service. Rey told the newspaper that putting out fires in California is costlier than in other states. But despite arguing that the agency is successfully dampening the rise in fire-fighting costs, Rey said "that rate is going to continue to increase as a consequence of fire and fuels conditions and drought," and growing development on wild land.
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