Two Southern California lawmakers said Wednesday that they would introduce several pieces of legislation to improve emergency response, hopefully before the next major wildfire destroys thousands of acres in the fire-prone state.
The announcement from state Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson and Assemblymember Monique Limón, both Democrats representing Santa Barbara, follows a series of destructive blazes that hit California last year. The Thomas fire, which burned more than 270,000 acres in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, was the largest recorded blaze in state history.
Jackson and Limón aim to address the shortcomings of an emergency alert system meant to forewarn residents of an approaching fire. The lawmakers also seek to improve emergency communications with non-English-speaking residents and to reduce the wildfire risk as new developments are built.
With climate change exacerbating extreme weather patterns in California ― including the kind of high temperatures and long periods of drought that create ideal conditions for wildfires ― Jackson said in a statement that the state must fortify its emergency alert system. “Recent California wildfires have driven home how important it is that we have a way to notify people quickly and effectively, so they can leave burning neighborhoods, check in on loved ones, and make the best choices for their safety at any hour of the day or night,” Jackson said.
The state senator plans to push a measure to give individual counties the ability to automatically enroll local residents in an emergency notification program that can focus on smaller areas. That would address two flaws in the state’s current network of public warning systems.
From the Huffington Post: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/california-wildfire-warning-systems_us_5a4d4b9de4b0b0e5a7aab918