Gazing down from Marine One, President Joe Biden surveyed miles of scorched earth slicing through dense green forests, the scars left by one of the worst wildfires to threaten California.<\/p>\n
Firefighters were able to protect the area around Lake Tahoe, but not before the Caldor fire decimated the small town of Grizzly Flats and destroyed hundreds of homes.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese fires are blinking code red for our nation. They\u2019re gaining frequency and ferocity. And we know what we need to do,\u201d the president said at a Sacramento airport after his aerial tour.<\/p>\n
Biden approved a federal disaster declaration for the area on Sunday, and officials warned that toxic waste runoff and sediment from the fire could threaten the watershed around Lake Tahoe.<\/p>\n
The president\u2019s trip to California reflects not only political imperatives \u2014 he\u2019s campaigning for Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is trying to fend off a recall campaign on Tuesday \u2014 but also his administration\u2019s increasing focus on wildfires.<\/p>\n
Biden has participated in regular briefings on the issue, and he\u2019s pushing for more spending on infrastructure to mitigate climate change, which scientists say is intensifying forest fires.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have not seen this much attention on what I would call good forest management and wildland management as I have with this administration,\u201d Cal Fire Director Thom Porter said, adding that in my 30-year career in this, I haven\u2019t seen any attention like this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Newsom, who greeted Biden after he landed on Air Force One and accompanied him for a briefing on wildfires, praised his commitment with an implicit swipe at former president Donald Trump. \u201cWe\u2019re not sparring partners. We\u2019re working partners,\u201d Newsom said.<\/p>\n
Before arriving in Sacramento, Biden stopped in Boise, Idaho, where he became the first president to visit the National Interagency Fire Center since it was founded five decades ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know the time of the year when the air fills with smoke and the sky turns a little orange,\u201d he said in Boise, adding: \u201cBut that time of year is getting earlier every year.\u201d<\/p>\n
There have been an estimated 44,000 wildfires this year, with 5.4 million acres (2.2 million hectares) burned nationwide.<\/p>\n
Biden said people on the East Coast struggle to comprehend the scale of the destruction, which rivals the size of New Jersey. \u201cIt\u2019s just unfathomable. They don\u2019t full understand how big the West is.\u201d<\/p>\n
Biden said climate change will continue to worsen wildfires and other natural disasters. \u201cWe can\u2019t continue to try to ignore reality. The reality is, we have a global warming problem,\u201d Bien said, adding, \u201cIt\u2019s not going to get any better than it is today. It only can get worse.\u201d<\/p>\n
More than 2 million acres have burned in California so far this year, which puts the state roughly on pace to equal last year\u2019s fire season, the worst on record.<\/p>\n
Dry vegetation, hot temperatures and the potential for high winds have raised concerns that the fall could bring even more devastating blazes to California.<\/p>\n
The state budget allocates 1.5 billion dollars for wildfire prevention work that includes clearing brush and forest management.<\/p>\n
In a meeting with Biden and other governors in late July, Newsom said the state needed more federal support to increase the number of firefighters and improve its fleet of aircraft.<\/p>\n
The governor implored Biden to direct the US Forest Service to more aggressively suppress fires on federal lands. \u201cThe US Forest Service is spectacular,\u201d Newsom said in July. \u201cWe have deep admiration, respect, but there\u2019s a culture that too often is \u2018wait and see.\u2019 We can\u2019t afford that any longer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Biden and his administration have taken steps to support firefighters who have struggled with low pay, high attrition and inadequate resources.<\/p>\n
Last month, about 15,000 firefighters working for the U.S. Forest Service and the Department of Interior saw their pay increased to at least 15 dollars per hour.<\/p>\n
Some were making as little as 13 dollars.
\nThe Pentagon also extended a program that gives firefighters access to military satellite data, which helps officials track conflagrations and decide where to deploy resources.<\/p>\n
The programme, known as FireGuard, had been slated to expire this month. \u201cWe owe you more than our thanks,\u201d Biden said in Boise, adding \u201cWe owe you what you need to deal with these problems.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Gazing down from Marine One, President Joe Biden surveyed miles of scorched earth slicing through dense green forests, the scars left by one of the worst wildfires to threaten California. Firefighters were able to protect the area around Lake Tahoe, but not before the Caldor fire decimated the small town of Grizzly Flats and destroyed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":95,"featured_media":138414,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[110,11,15,2,4],"tags":[18324,58032,56636,50169],"yoast_head":"\n