California can’t wait for the political winds to shift. My bipartisan wildfire bill would save lives.

California can’t wait for the political winds to shift. My bipartisan wildfire bill would save lives.

No matter how many times you’ve seen it, nothing can prepare you for the devastation you find in the aftermath of a wildfire. Nothing. I’ve visited the Forest Service’s Incident Post in Quincy as fire crews battled the raging Dixie Fire in 2021. And I toured what’s left of the Pacific Palisades and Altadena neighborhoods that were hit worst by this winter’s fires. What I’ve seen is heart wrenching. Car wheels melted into the sidewalk. A sea of e…

California sets aside money to thin vegetation, forests to help prevent wildfires

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed new legislation that will provide more than $170 million in state funding to help prevent wildfires while signing an order aimed at speeding up the work by easing environmental permitting. The funding — which the Democratic governor said was part of a broader effort to better protect communities ahead of peak fire season — comes as the state is under extraordinary pressure after the January infernos that devastated Los A…