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Dear John,

The catastrophic wildfires in Los Angeles County have exposed glaring deficiencies in the state’s wildfire prevention and disaster preparedness strategies. Governor Gavin Newsom and L.A. Mayor Karen Bass are facing a public reckoning from all corners as outrage swells over the failures of their governance.

This week, we turn our attention to suggestions for the path forward. Edward Ring, Director of Water and Energy Policy at California Policy Center, outlines actionable solutions that state and local leaders can undertake now to reduce fire risks, protect communities, and restore California’s resilience. From streamlined regulations and improved forest management to the deployment of cutting-edge firefighting technologies, this roadmap charts a course for leaders who are ready to lead.

Plus, don’t miss Edward Ring on this week’s The Way I Heard It ([link removed]) podcast with Mike Rowe as they unpack why the fires happened and what could have been — and should be — done differently.

Finally, we are profoundly grateful for the overwhelming generosity of our supporters who responded to last week’s call to action for wildfire relief. Your contributions to the California Wildfire Relief Fund underscore a deep, shared commitment to the state we call home and the unwavering support for our fellow Californians in their time of greatest need. This campaign has also seen incredible support from donors across the country who are united in their resolve to help Californians rebuild and recover.

If you'd like to join this effort, details on how to donate are below.


** Fire Prevention and Resilience in California: A Policy Blueprint for Government Leaders
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The devastating fires in Los Angeles County underscore the urgent need for proactive measures to reduce wildfire risk and improve community resilience in California. While no preparation can entirely prevent tragedies when 100 MPH winds ignite urban canyons, there are practical steps local and regional leaders can take to better prepare for the next wildfire.

Local elected officials can play a critical role in reshaping state policies and overcoming bureaucratic obstacles that have long hindered California’s wildfire preparedness. Working collectively, local authorities can marshal the political, financial, and legal resources needed to dismantle the thicket of counterproductive laws, regulations, and bureaucracy that have undermined California’s ability to prepare for fires, and pave the way for more effective fire prevention strategies.

This moment calls for a candid assessment of the policies that have exacerbated wildfire risk. Despite good intentions, environmentalist-inspired regulations have contributed to water and energy scarcity, reducing our ability to fight fires effectively. These same policies have also limited responsible forest management and the proactive clearing of brush from urban canyons — practices essential for wildfire resilience.

The recommendations below provide a roadmap for enhancing fire prevention and readiness across California, empowering leaders to protect their communities from future disasters.​

1 – Support legislation that streamlines the approval process for projects that deliver more water, and repeal legislation that deters investment in more water infrastructure. In particular, state legislators should either repeal the California Environmental Quality Act ([link removed]) (CEQA) altogether, or at the least, take away the right of third-party private attorneys to file lawsuits pursuant to CEQA, which often will delay, if not stop, badly needed fire prevention strategies including brush removal, prescribed burns, and grazing.

2 – Repeal Senate Bill 1157 ([link removed]) and related legislation that enforces permanent water rationing on California’s households and businesses. This intrusive law will squander an estimated $7 billion ([link removed]) to save a scant 440,000 acre feet of water per year. But its ultimate impact will be to slow, if not stop, efforts by urban water districts to increase their supply capacity. Under countless disaster scenarios for which we may have no advance notice, stripping all surplus out of our capacity to store, treat, and distribute water can have devastating consequences.

3 – Work with local fire department officials to identify fire-prone neighborhoods and adjacent open space and send crews annually to clear overgrown fuel. The procedures to do this are well established ([link removed]) ; we just haven’t done enough of it. Fast track the approval process (hours, not months) for applications to perform the work. Then use all available tools and techniques to reduce overgrown vegetation — goats and other grazing animals, prescribed burns, and mechanical thinning.

4 – Bury power lines. All of them. Everywhere. Secure state and federal funds to help pay for it.

5 – Revise building codes to improve the many standards that already exist to protect homes against wildfires. Eliminate combustible exteriors, install windows with tempered glass, and require fire-resistive roof underlayment, non-combustible fences and decks, closed attics, or attics with ember-resistant vents that are sprayed with fire retardant interior coating.

6 – Encourage private residential pool construction with the condition that they include, as this well-prepared homeowner ([link removed]) suggests, “a 3–inch suction line in the deep end with a standpipe at the street to allow firefighters a guaranteed source of water.”

7 – Embrace the concept of resilience instead of retreat. At 4,790 per square mile, California has the highest urban density ([link removed]) in the United States while only 5 percent of California’s land is urbanized. Fire risk in the urban-wildland-interface should inspire us to prevent fires or withstand fires in these areas, not force Californians into increasingly dense urban cores.

8 – Resist the regulatory assault on permeable surfaces that both percolate runoff, transpirate valuable moisture into the atmosphere, and reduce urban heat island impact. For example, tear up artificial turf and replant grass on athletic fields. Instead of forcing homeowners to abandon lawns, simply ban use of pesticides and herbicides on lawns. We are not taking advantage of the potential for well-hydrated urban landscapes ([link removed]) to increase humidity and resist ignition.

9 – Work with Explorer Scout troops, homeless services, county corrections officials, community colleges, local fire departments and other community organizations to recruit and train a firefighting reserve corps. Drawing on well-established criteria for training volunteer fire brigades, but scaled up, create an army of firefighting reservists that undergo annual refresher training and are on call whenever disaster strikes.

10 – Reimagine firefighting and fire prevention to save money and improve results. Work with private and public fire agencies and private entrepreneurs to procure and test not only systems to remotely detect small fires before they become big fires, but also next-generation technologies such as water carrying, firefighting drones ([link removed]) and autonomous robots ([link removed]) designed to march into canyons to cut and remove brush. There is no reason why small cities and agencies cannot have someone looking into these opportunities and make small investments. Accelerating the development of these innovations may be the final decisive step necessary to make the experience of cataclysmic wildfires recede into history.

The scale of the ongoing tragedy in Los Angeles County defies description. But it doesn’t have to happen again. With decisive action and smart policies, California leaders can reduce wildfire risks, protect communities, and prevent future disasters.

by Edward Ring, Director of Water and Energy Policy at California Policy Center. Ring is the co-author, along with Steve Hilton, of Modern Forest Management ([link removed]) (March 15, 2024), a report from Golden Together that is essential reading on the mismanagement of California’s forests that includes additional recommendations for state and federal reforms that should be enacted to advance effective wildfire prevention.


** CPC supporters give generously to California Wildfire Relief Fund
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Last week, we introduced the California Wildfire Relief Fund at DonorsTrust, the nation’s oldest and largest donor-advised fund dedicated to the principles of liberty. This initiative was launched to provide meaningful support to Californians affected by the devastating fires through private, philosophically-aligned organizations engaged in disaster relief.

We are humbled by the immediate and overwhelming generosity of our supporters. Your donations will make a profound difference for our fellow Californians rebuilding after this tragedy.

If you’d like to join this relief effort, please download contribution instructions here.
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** The Way I Heard It with Mike Rowe #421: What to do About Bass
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CPC's Edward Ring joined The Way I Heard It podcast with host Mike Rowe this week to discuss the Los Angeles wildfires: why they happened, who is getting it right, and who is getting it wrong. Listen now. ([link removed])

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** Radio Free California #372: Karen Bass-O-Matic
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On this week's podcast with CPC president Will Swaim and CPC board member David Bahnsen: In the midst of a catastrophic wildfire response, L.A. Mayor Karen Bass is getting a seemingly lethal dose of public outrage. Is this Newsom’s Hurricane Katrina? Bonus tracks: Attorney Julie Hamill describes some of the legal issues arising with the embers, and Edward Ring reviews the mechanical future of firefighting. Listen now. ([link removed])

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After a period of municipal financial stability, California local governments are once again facing fiscal distress. A robust system of municipal financial reporting and monitoring can provide early warnings of fiscal trouble and allow policymakers at the state and local level to proactively address them.

Join California Policy Center and XBRL US for a half-day conference, Modernizing Municipal Reporting, featuring keynote speaker California State Treasurer Fiona Ma, CPA on January 30, 2025 from 8:45 AM - 1:30 PM in Costa Mesa, CA.

— Learn how the Financial Data Transparency Act (FDTA) offers the opportunity to modernize government reporting, giving state and local policymakers the tools to monitor fiscal health.

— Explore steps the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) is taking to build open data standards that will express government financials in digital format.

— Find out how standardized, machine-readable financials can be a game-changer to track and identify financial health for cities, counties and special districts.

— Get insights into practical aspects of the FDTA rollout from public sector accountants and analysts.

Don't miss this opportunity to learn about the potential impact of the FDTA on California governments, and participate in the discussion about how to implement this program efficiently and effectively!

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Registration is now open for CPC’s fourth annual Parents, Not Partisans Summit 2025: California at the Crossroads of Education in Sacramento March 18-19, 2025! Join us for this transformative two-day event designed to equip parent group leaders, education reform advocates and school board members with the tools and strategies to meet the opportunities — and challenges — of 2025 head-on.

What You’ll Gain:
* Strategies to improve academic fundamentals like reading and math in your school district.
* A game plan for standing up to education bureaucrats and teachers unions that continue to legislate and litigate to override local authority.
* Connections with like-minded advocates, school board members and legislators.
* And much more!

Register today to join us Tuesday, March 18 - Wednesday, March 19, 2025 in Sacramento. Use the promo code "PARENTUNION" at checkout to receive complimentary conference registration.

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ABOUT THE CALIFORNIA POLICY CENTER

The California Policy Center promotes prosperity for all Californians through limited government and individual liberty.

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