Dear Honorable Members of the California Legislature:
On behalf of the organizations listed above, we write in support of Assembly Bill 9, which establishes the Regional Forest and Fires Program to create fire adapted communities by improving watershed health, forest health, community wildfire preparedness, and fire resilience by supporting regional leadership through block grants and technical assistance.
Over the last decade California has seen a substantial increase in the threat of climate driven wildfire. Nine of the ten largest wildfires in California history have occurred over the past decade, and five of those took place in 2020 alone. As we head into an historic drought all indications suggest that this 2021 wildfire season will continue the trend of more extreme wildfire.
Wildfires require risk reduction not only for the homeowner but adjacent neighbors and public land in the vicinity as well. A neighbor’s poorly maintained property or green space can be the source of wildfire spread no matter how much hard work and mitigation an individual property owner has done. The comprehensive support of AB 9 addresses this need for broader community and region wide mitigation efforts.
AB 9 will engage in comprehensive wildfire risk reduction solutions at the community and regional levels by making investments in the Natural Resources Agency, Department of Conservation to improve forest health and fire resiliency and provide resources to local communities to engage in proactive fire reduction projects. This will help protect Californians from the impacts of wildfire. For this reason, we support AB 9.
We look forward to working together with the legislature to better protect homes, communities, and residents.
Respectfully,
California Building Industry Association