SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Faced with hundreds of big, hard-to- control blazes, California is struggling with what could be its most expensive firefighting season ever, burning through $285 million in the past six weeks alone and up to $13 million a day.
With the worst of the fire season still ahead, lawmakers are scrambling to find a way to pay for it all and are considering slapping homeowners with a disaster surcharge that asks those in fire-prone areas to pay the most.
“There is no more fire season as we know it — the fire season is now all year-round,” Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said while touring wildfires last month in northern California. “That means that we don’t have enough resources.”
The crisis comes as California deals with a $15.2 billion budget deficit.
