GOLETA, Calif. (KCBS/SFGate) -- As wildfires continue to rage across the state, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced Saturday a proposal to raise funds to provide more resources for California firefighters.
While visiting the “Gap” fire burning in Santa Barbara County, Gov. Schwarzenegger explained that the new initiative would require each home to pay $1 dollar per month. While the small fee may seem inadequate, the Governor believes it will help provide the much-needed funds to hire more firefighters, and purchase new fire trucks and aircraft.
Schwarzenegger hopes to include the initiative in the upcoming state budget. He also noted that drier conditions have ended four month fire seasons and that the serious and devastating shift in circumstances means that the state must adapt.
In the last two weeks, a slew of wildfires has burned more than 800 square miles of land across the state. In Southern California, the Governor said that the number one priority for firefighters is the coastal region of Santa Barbara County, where nearly 2,700 homes were threatened by a four-day-old fire in the Los Padres National Forest that has already consumed 13 square miles. A county spokesperson said Saturday that the fire is only 24 percent contained.
The second greatest threat is the wildfire burning in Big Sur. Thus far, 111 square miles have been destroyed and only 5 percent of the fire has been contained. Firefighters predict that the fire will not be fully contained until July 30.
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KCBS' Mark Seelig reports
