Cal Fire

As fires rage, California takes steps to integrate technology into wildfire management

CALIFORNIA — In September, even before the October wildfires began to ravage parts of northern and southern California, governor Gavin Newsom announced two contracts totaling nearly $2 million for developing technology to facilitate wildfire detection and emergency decision-making.

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Family members working as private contractors for Cal Fire recount a close call with Camp Fire

The Wurlitzer family’s company is one of 18 bulldozer vendors contracted by Butte County Cal Fire for extra assistance in combatting an increasing number of wildfires that have strapped the state’s resources. The Camp Fire was the worst that any of them had ever seen.

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Wildland development escalates California fire costs

PARADISE — The Camp Fire is just the latest mega-fire in California — and the cost of fighting such fires has risen dramatically. California dwarfs other states in fire-suppression costs, an analysis by a Stanford journalism class has found. The Stanford class analyzed daily reports from the most expensive fires in every state from 2014 to 2017, and found that dense development at the border of wildlands — in communities like Paradise, Cobb, and Santa Rosa — helps explain California fires’ exceptional damage and expense to put out.

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