Former Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva talks about the local response to the devastating California wildfires on The Big Money Show.
the destroyer Fires caused by wind That hit Southern California this week, prompting some experts to criticize the impact of federal and state regulations on mitigation efforts.
Several wildfires are burning in the greater Los Angeles area, including the Palisades Fire, which has destroyed about 1,000 structures in Pacific Palisades and Malibu since Wednesday, and the Eaton Fire near Altadena. At least five people died in the fire.
More than 70,000 residents in the area are under evacuation orders as strong Santa Ana winds of 100 mph continue to fan the fire.
Golden State struggles with destructive fires in both Southern California and Northern California have drawn scrutiny in recent years to federal and state regulations that critics say make it more difficult to implement mitigation activities, such as prescribed burns or treatments to remove trees and hazardous vegetation.
Firefighters battle a wildfire near a neighborhood in Pacific Palisades, California on January 7, 2025. (Photo by David Swanson/AFP) (Photo by David Swanson/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images)
Chuck Dever, a former California state assemblyman and director of national initiatives at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, told FOX Business in an interview that federal and state laws have hampered efforts to reduce wildfires, leading to larger fuel loads that fuel more intense growth. will be Forest fires
“The nature of the wildfire problem changes a little bit from the north to the south. … In both cases, you have the problem of air quality management areas that are federally and state-regulated to clean up the air. That makes it difficult. Prescribed burns “With the kind of frequency that needs to happen in order to reduce the fuel load.”
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People evacuate their homes due to a brush fire in Pacific Palisades, California on January 7, 2025. (David Swanson/AFP via Getty Images)/Getty Images)
“In Northern California as well as many Pacific NorthwestHe explained: “When the timber companies come in and harvest, they clean the undergrowth and replant it.” “Since it's really stalled, what's happened is you've had fire suppression along with rapid forest growth and this massive accumulation of fuel that's led to bigger fires in the north.”
“In Southern California, there's a problem with creating defensible space around any structure, both residential and commercial,” Dover said. “Ideally it should be 100 feet, in many cases it's mandatory and fire departments try to enforce it. But people forget, over time you live in a place, you like the way things look.” Come on, bushes and trees are starting to encroach on your property and you don't cut it as much as you should.”
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Elderly patients are rushed to emergency vehicles as embers and flames approach during the Eaton fire in Pasadena, California on January 7, 2025. (JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images)
Joe Redan, a registered professional forester in California and retired forester with the US Forest Service, told FOX Business that federal and state policies can create “roadblocks” for property owners.
” California Environmental Quality Act “On the federal side, there's the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the requirements that go with it. The federal Endangered Species Act, the Archaeological Resource Protection Act, and countless other federal laws and procedural rules that have to be followed,” Redan said. pass.”
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The fires Southern California is fighting are shown on a map (Fox News)
Redan explained that the increased fire threat in the wildland-urban interface — a transition zone between unmanaged wildlands and human communities where there is significant vegetation and fuel for wildfires — means property owners must be “very, very Be dedicated to managing that vegetation. It doesn't overgrow” and it's easier to manage in the event of a fire.
“Southern California receives Santa Ana windsAnd it's just an atmospheric phenomenon – you can't prevent it, so what you have to do is reduce everything to protect your population and your assets: your homes, your businesses from these fires. .. A wind-driven fire with a low amount of fuel still kills homes, etc., but it's much easier to manage than having too much vegetation that releases a lot of energy, Redan explained.
Redan noted that California has programs at the state and county level aimed at helping homeowners and property owners in fire-prone areas create defensible spaces around their properties. However, he said the feeling among property owners that the worst won't happen to them can lead to underutilization of the programs.
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I think this is a sociological problem. It's a sociological problem that people get complacent—they get religion after they come to a Jesus meeting about this kind of thing—and then they get very complacent.
When California pays you 70%, it's hard to get people to pay 30%. It makes more people willing to invest and do the necessary work to protect their assets.”