California: $1 Billion a year to fight wildfire is as good for jobs as the real estate market

In Orange and Riverside counties, the 30,000-acre Freeway Complex
blaze destroyed nearly 200 residences. And the Tea fire chewed its way
through Montecito neighborhoods. All told, an area nearly three times
the size of Orange County burned throughout the state. More than 2,300
structures were destroyed. Statistics like that are driving efforts to
adopt preventive measures. “The solution is not just more engines,
more airplanes,” said Grijalva, who previously served as state fire
marshal and Palo Alto’s fire chief. But the past year underscores how
much easier it is to open the funding spigot than to pursue more
fundamental reforms to rein in firefighting costs or shift more of the
financial burden to those who live in high fire-hazard zones.

State
Sen. Christine Kehoe (D-San Diego) sponsored several measures that
went nowhere. One would have raised an estimated $43 million a year
for fuel-reduction projects and state inspections by imposing a $50
fee on residences in areas protected by the state Department of
Forestry and Fire Protection. A bill written by Assemblyman Dave Jones
(D-Sacramento) would have required that new subdivisions in high
fire-risk areas have two access roads to ensure that residents could
get out and fire engines could get in during an emergency. Developers
also would have had to show that they had adequate water pressure and
fire protection. The proposal, supported by firefighter associations,
was listed as a “job killer” by the state Chamber of Commerce, which
argued that it could virtually shut down suburban development in
certain parts of the state. The bill was passed by the Legislature but
vetoed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-wildfires31-2008dec31,0,362182.story

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