Governor Gavin Newsom of California Corrects the Misinformation: No Budget Cuts for Firefighting

Governor Gavin Newsom is responding to allegations that the state reduced funding for firefighters by developing a facts website, as California continues to struggle with destructive wildfires that have destroyed neighborhoods.

In an attempt to provide much-needed clarity as the catastrophe suddenly turns into a political issue, Newsom announced the facts site on Twitter.

The claim that California cut firefighting funding is among the most widely spread falsehoods. But the facts show differently. Since 2019, the number of CalFIRE employees has increased from 5,829 to 10,741, almost doubling. Additionally, throughout the same time period, CalFIRE’s budget increased from $2 billion to $3.8 billion. Claims that the state has given up battling fires are refuted by these numbers.

Another myth is that the wildfires in California are caused by the state’s poor management of its forest resources. Actually, the state now has a much larger budget for forest management. The yearly budget has increased to $2 billion, including investments in wildfire resilience, from $200 million in 2018. Prescribed burns have more than doubled in recent years, and California has treated more than 700,000 acres of land to make it more resilient to wildfires.

There has also been a lot of false information about the availability of water. There is no water crisis in Southern California, and California’s reservoir levels are at record levels, despite assertions that the state ran out of water. The state has enough water supplies to withstand any droughts, therefore the ongoing fight against wildfires will continue to have strong support.

In order to restore clarity and trust in the face of tragedy, Governor Newsom’s fact-based approach seeks to debunk these falsehoods.