Dear Governor Newsom, Senator Feinstein, Senator Harris and Secretary Bernhardt,

California has been severely under-resourced to fight wildfires with a pattern of nearly half of the calls for firefighting help going unanswered for the past decade. No truck, no water, no air support.

We cannot accept this. We cannot just let California burn at this unprecedented rate. People are dying, communities are suffering, and our fragile ecosystems are being destroyed.

In 2019, The San Francisco Chronicle reported, "Over 5 days, requests for 900 engines went unfilled." Now in 2020, wildfires sparked by dry lightning are rapidly burning forests, homes, ranches and farms. 

The Chronicle reported on August 19, 2020, "Cal Fire is battling 367 wildfires, 23 of which are considered major." On August 21, USA Today reports "560 fires are raging in the state." While help is coming, it is not enough to mitigate the environmental disaster that is happening. 

This petition is intended to give our small communities a collective voice in asking for more resources for firefighting at the state, local and federal level.

We ask that wildfires be considered urgent environmental and humanitarian crises that require emergency action to prevent loss of life and property and to mitigate homelessness. 

We ask for assurance of the safety and well-being of our exhausted and traumatized firefighting personnel.

We ask for increased support for CalFire immediately, including more resources to fight wildfires from the air. 

We ask the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services to quickly expand California’s mutual aid system to fight these fires more efficiently with greater resources.

We ask for the development of a local reserve firefighting force for future fire seasons.

We ask that consideration be given to lifting restrictions on prisoners who fight fires so they may be eligible for employment in fire fighting upon their release.

We ask the Department of Interior to quickly increase its resources and hire more seasonal and full-time wildland fire employees to prepare for future wildfire disasters.

Finally, we acknowledge and sincerely thank all those working tirelessly to help our communities.

Thank you for your diligent efforts in this matter.

Photo: CZU Lightning Complex Fire at Waddell State Beach near Big Basin Redwoods State Park, August 2020. Credit: Josh Winans

References:
https://www.fire.ca.gov/

San Francisco Chronicle:
https://bit.ly/3hg4K0V
https://bit.ly/31miOk6

Sacramento Bee:
https://bit.ly/3l8ZfU9

Washington Post:
https://wapo.st/34nkbRi

USA Today
https://bit.ly/34nkDPu

Pacific Standard
https://bit.ly/31ju8x3