Sacramento, California – Governor Gavin Newsom's administration is facing renewed questions regarding the effectiveness of its wildfire prevention strategies, particularly the extent of state land mitigation. The inquiry comes from Lance Christensen, Vice President of Education Policy and Government Affairs at the California Policy Center, who publicly challenged the Governor on social media.
In a recent tweet, Christensen directly asked Governor Newsom, "> How many acres of state land have you mitigated, Governor, so we don't have to use these helicopters?" This question highlights a persistent debate over the balance between proactive land management and reactive aerial firefighting resources in California's wildfire response. Christensen, a prominent critic of state policies and a former candidate for California Superintendent of Public Instruction, often scrutinizes government spending and efficacy.
The Newsom administration has reported significant progress in wildfire prevention efforts. According to state dashboards and official announcements, California treated approximately 700,000 acres for wildfire resilience in 2023 alone. This figure contributes to a total of nearly 1.9 million acres treated across federal, state, local, and private lands between 2021 and 2023, utilizing strategies such as fuel reduction and prescribed burns.
Despite these reported achievements, the state's mitigation efforts have faced past scrutiny. A 2021 investigation by Capital Public Radio, for instance, alleged that Governor Newsom's administration had overstated the amount of land treated for wildfire prevention. More recently, the state's budget for wildfire and forest resilience saw reductions of $191 million across the 2023 and 2024 fiscal years, although the overall CAL FIRE budget has seen substantial increases over the past decade.
Concurrently, the state has expanded its aerial firefighting capabilities. Governor Newsom's office has overseen the growth of California's aerial fleet, including the addition of more than 16 helicopters, some equipped for night operations, and the acquisition of seven C-130 air tankers. This expansion underscores the ongoing reliance on aerial suppression, even as land-based mitigation efforts are emphasized. The ongoing challenge for California remains balancing these approaches to effectively combat the increasing threat of catastrophic wildfires.