By Rachael Myrow, KQED News Fix
When wildfires blow up, and especially when more than one is raging at the same time, the calls go out to everybody with firefighting resources. It happens every year, more or less often depending on the weather. This year, though, our collective ability to fend off fiery Armageddon is hampered by a hoary beast that roams Excel spreadsheets up and down the state: Budget Cuts.
“A lot of the local agencies across the state have been struggling to just provide the basic level of fire protection for their own communities,” said Alameda County Fire Chief Demetrious Shaffer. He’s also the president of the California Fire Chiefs Association.
Speaking with KQED’s California Report for our Monday morning broadcast, Shaffer explained that many of California’s more than 900 fire departments have cut back in a variety of ways in recent years.
Read the complete story at KQED News Fix.
As the dry season has arrived in California, as many as 50 volunteer fire watchers take shifts in outposts located high above San Francisco Bay. read the complete story at KALW.