A lack of snowfall this past winter has California fire officials bracing for a potentially intense fire season, reports CalMatters’ Rachel Becker.
State engineers conducted the annual April 1 snowpack measurement Wednesday, at Phillips Station south of Lake Tahoe. They reported that California’s snowpack at the end of the season was just 18% of average statewide. In the northern mountains, which supply California’s major reservoirs, the snowpack was an even more paltry 6% of average.
The bleak numbers mark the second-worst snowpack on record, despite that in January, the U.S. Drought Monitor reported that the state was completely drought free — a first in 25 years. Much of the precipitation to date, however, has been due to rain rather than snow, and last month’s heatwave melted most of the remaining snow.
Experts warn that the poor showing of snow could bring about an early fire season in the mountains. Jim Drennan, the fire chief for South Lake Tahoe, said fire agencies in the Tahoe basin can begin clearing fuels from forest areas.
- Drennan: “It’s pretty bizarre up here right now. It really seems like June conditions more than March. People are already turning the sprinklers on for their lawns.”
Martin Goldberg, the battalion chief and fuels management officer for the Lake Valley Fire Protection District, also urged residents to take precautionary measures to prevent fires.
Homeowners can protect their homes by surveying their yards for flammable materials, such as firewood, wooden fences and even lawn furniture piled up on the side of houses. Homeowners can also create defensible spaces that act as a buffer between their property and the surrounding wildland.
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Other Stories You Should Know
CA’s top GOP candidates for governor
As frequent WhatMatters readers are already aware, California’s primary election system enables two candidates with the most votes, regardless of party, advance to the general election. That means if the field of Democratic candidates split the liberal vote, Republican contenders — former Fox News host Steve Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco — could both advance on the November ballot.
So who are these GOP candidates and how do they differ from one another?
As CalMatters’ Jeanne Kuang explains, both support President Donald Trump and deregulation, as well as reversing prison closures and boosting in-state oil production. Hilton, one of the race’s top fundraisers, has raised more than $6.6 million so far, surpassing Bianco by more than $2 million.
But despite their similarities, both have openly criticized one another. Hilton has attacked Bianco for having “too much baggage” related to liberal causes, citing video footage of Bianco kneeling during a Black Lives Matters protest in 2020. Meanwhile, Bianco, who is currently embroiled in a dispute with the state for seizing voting ballots, has slammed Hilton over a political crowdfunding startup Hilton co-founded that later rebranded to support Democrats.
Newsom gives state 4 months to figure out AI rules
Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order Monday that places safeguards on the use of artificial intelligence by state employees, while also encouraging the state to accelerate the use of the technology, writes CalMatters’ Khari Johnson.
The order requires state agencies to develop and set guidelines by August for state contracts with AI companies related to the technology’s ability to generate unlawful content, such as child sexual abuse material or content that violates civil liberties and surveillance protections.
But the order also directs agencies to update the State Digital Strategy to identify ways generative AI can “strengthen government transparency” and improve access to government services.
Newsom issued the order amid a dispute between the Trump administration and AI company Anthropic. Last month the U.S. Department of Defense deemed the San Francisco-based company a supply chain risk, prohibiting it from competing for certain military contracts. Anthropic is challenging the designation.
And lastly: Pushing for more pension perks
Police and firefighter unions are pushing to roll back pension limits, including lowering the retirement age to 55 and boosting benefits. CalMatters’ Adam Ashton and video strategy director Robert Meeks have a video segment on the debate over the cost of public employee pensions as part of our partnership with PBS SoCal. Watch it here.
SoCalMatters airs at 5:58 p.m. weekdays on PBS SoCal.
California Voices
CalMatters columnist Dan Walters: Newsom’s record in office is less than stellar, but allegations by a conservative outlet that he resides over an “empire of fraud” typifies sloppy journalism and political mud slinging.
CalMatters contributor Jim Newton: In an effort to perhaps neutralize a true contender for Los Angeles mayor, incumbent Karen Bass is attempting to boost Republican candidate Spencer Pratt instead of directly targeting fellow Democrat Nithya Raman.
At a time when the federal government is rolling back environmental protections, the state granting protections for its imperiled mountain lions is a form of resistance, writes Tiffany Yap, urban wildlands science director at the Center for Biological Diversity.
Other things worth your time:
Supreme Court ruling imperils CA’s ban on conversion therapy // The Sacramento Bee
Trump’s executive order on NPR and PBS is unconstitutional, judge rules // The New York Times
Trump administration adopted rules that fail to protect endangered species, CA judge rules // San Francisco Chronicle
Donations to gubernatorial candidate could violate CA campaign rules // San Francisco Chronicle
Cal State students widely use AI tools, but mistrust results and fear job impact // EdSource
SF House candidates clash on taxes,transit in debate to replace Pelosi // KQED
Sacramento mother who was deported, then returned, will appeal green card denial // The Sacramento Bee
Feds visit Imperial Beach to assess economic toll of Tijuana River pollution crisis // The San Diego Union-Tribune
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