California’s firefighters have already put out more than 290 wildfires in 2024, but some are facing difficulties in insuring their home bases amid the state’s risky fire profile.
Those problems came to the forefront Thursday when Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D-CA) administration defended an $11 million request from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to replace a kitchen at Ishi Conservation Camp in Northern California.
That camp, which houses and trains firefighters, could not be insured properly by Cal Fire. That resulted in the high-dollar request because, normally, bonds based on the value of the property cover maintenance, but a lack of quality insurance prevented that, according to Finance Department Analyst Victor Lopez.
“The insurance industry, they weren’t interested in selling insurance policies in the region due to the perceived fire risk in the area,” Lopez said.
California lawmakers couldn’t believe it.
“We can’t get fire insurance at a fire station that’s going to be manned by firefighters,” state Sen. Brian Dahle, a Republican from Northern California’s Lassen County, said. “That’s where we are in California. That, to me, is crazy.”
Read the full story in THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER.
