North Coast Sen. Mike McGuire hosts wildfire prevention and preparedness town hall

EUREKA, Calif. — On Tuesday, North Coast Senator Mike McGuire hosted a Wildfire Prevention and Preparedness virtual town hall. McGuire was joined by fire officials in addressing residents' questions ahead of wildfire season.

"Our new reality in this era of mega-fires is here to stay. Fourteen of the 20 largest wildfires have all happened right here in the golden state in the last decade," Sen. McGuire said.

Cal Fire Assistant Region Chief Jake Hess points out that the 12 atmospheric rivers the state has seen this winter have led to a robust grass crop. That's led to significant fuel loading and is creating concerns ahead of fire season.

"We are seeing right now in our simulations, that fires are actually looking like they have more energy due to the herbaceous fuel loading," Hess said.

Hess also discussed the available firefighting resources, from hundreds of engines to helicopters and aircraft.

"We have an objective to keep 90% of our fires at 10 acres or less," Hess said.

Marin County Fire Chief Jason Weber was also on the panel discussing the importance of preparing yourself and your property now.

"What we have to do is build an environment that's now adaptive to fire. So this is something that's going to take a change in mindset," Weber said.

In terms of wildfire prevention funding, Sen. McGuire said California historically hasn't seen a whole lot of money from the federal government, but that's set to change.

"Now we're going to see this half billion dollars over the next five years and why this is so important. 57% of all of our forest land across California is owned and managed by the federal government."

You can find more info on wildfire prevention on ReadyForWildfire.org. The fullvirtual town hall can be viewed below: