January 24, 2024

I typically don't ruminate on paper/screen this frequently. My actual job gets in the way. But President Trump is visiting his bestie, Governor Newsom, today, Friday, January 24, 2024, and away from the small talk around how long LeBron can keep it up or whether Northern Californian tacos can compare to Southern, at some point, they'll get to ... fire relief.

Some talking and writing-heads compare fires to hurricanes or even earthquakes. There are similarities. And yes, climate change plays a role. But, the mitigation tactics a state or region can take to prevent fires are substantial. 

What Trump Shouldn't Do

Link wildfire relief to a debt-ceiling increase

This is a bad idea. It's tit for tat and opens the door to when Democrats are in power and something happens in a GOP state. 

What Trump Should Do

Promote the Bipartisan Fix Our Forests Act

The House passed the Act on Thursday (279-141). Notable Democratic co-sponsors are California Democrats whose districts have been ravaged in recent years. The Act would:

1. Clear regulatory hurdles by prohibiting courts from stymying fire mitigation projects (mainly due to environmental demands).

2. Permit utilities to clear trees within close proximity of electric lines. This one sounds like a no-brainer, but believe it or not, the current limit is just 10 feet. The Act increases that to 150 feet. 

3. Fast-track prescribed burns. Another no-brainer and the #s tell it all - It takes almost a decade (9.4 years) to begin a prescribed burn if an environmental impact statement is challenged in court. 

Address the Antiquities Act

This will be controversial. The Act "preserves" national monuments, but elected officials have used it to limit mining and logging. Forest management has also been halted near areas that have been deemed in need of preservation. 

For example, the Sáttítla Highlands National Monument is located in Northern California. It had been deemed "sacred," and several forests in this area have been burned in recent years. The same occurred with an area above the San Gabriel Mountains that has been burning over the past three weeks. The justification under the Antiquities Act for not being able to intervene and clear brush has been to protect:

- Indigenous artifacts 

- 5 dozen species of plants, trees, and critters

- Rare anorthosite complex rocks that are 1.5 billion years old

- Ruins of grand recreation resorts (that, by the was,y burned, I couldn't make this up, in a fire in 1896)

- A missile unit from the Cold War

All laudable things to protect, but there's a cost to protecting them.