California spent over $1 billion on emergency wildfire suppression last year

Each year, the wildfire season in California gets longer, fires get hotter and more destructive, and consequently, the government spends more money fighting those fires. The total emergency fire suppression cost for fiscal year 2021, which ran from July 2020 to June 2021, will likely surpass $1 billion for the first time.

Scott Strazzante for SF Chronicle

More wildfire seasons like 2020 could strain the state’s fiscal resources.

By Yoohyun Jung, SF Chronicle | 7/2021

The state should get some help from the federal government with this enormous tab. Federal funds usually cover about 75% of emergency fire suppression costs for large fires. But California will still come out at a loss because 2020 was such a destructive fire year. Read More