CAL Fire Budget Crisis Debate Intensifies

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Sacramento, California

It appears California's budget woes may cut deeply into future funding for the state's firefighting emergencies and lead to the cancellation of a contract for the use of a vital aerial support plane.

Battle lines have been drawn in the debate over maintaining public safety standards while having to deal with the economy-related loss of millions of tax dollars.

And there is a suggestion by a state legislative analyst to slash the budget for the state's primary firefighting agency, Cal Fire, by $55 million, or 10.4 percent in the coming fiscal year.

While Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger seeks a surcharge of nearly 3 percent on property insurance bills to pay for special firefighting costs, the state legislature is not supporting the idea.

Under the governor's plan California homeowners would be liable for a $28 yearly property insurance surcharge that could bring in as much as $278 million annually for funding more fire crews, engines and aerial support.

But in Sacramento, the state's capitol, lawmakers are making it known that they're not going to be able to raise any additional revenues at this time. They say they have done just about all they can do for now.

Fearing hard times ahead Cal Fire has already reduced its staff and pink slipped a number of employees working for the new California Emergency Management Agency.

In addition, a number of fire stations have been shuttered and some seasonal firefighting positions most likely will go unfilled.

Cal Fire officials admit there is no apparent resolve to the problem. However, they say they are hopeful that federal economic stimulus money may be forthcoming, as promised by the new administration in Washington.

The federal aid could be as much as $175 million.

Meantime, published reports say one cost-saving measure would be to have Cal Fire cancel the last year of its three-year contract for the use of a DC-10 jumbo air tanker.

Elimination of the final year of that agreement with Ten Tanker Carrier of Victorville, California for use a converted Douglas DC-10 jetliner, capable of dropping 12-thousand gallons of water or fire retardant on a wildland fire, would save about $6.8 million.

A Cal Fire spokeswoman says if the DC-10 were needed to battle a major California brush fire, after the contract was cancelled, the agency would be forced to pay a 50-percent premium to put it into the air.