State of emergency was announced in Sacrament this morning on Kern County by Arnold Schwarzenegger. The Tehachapi fire, also known as the west fire, has been contained 25 percent. Only 5 percent of the bull fire has been contained. Because there is a State of Emergency, cash-strapped California will be able to pay for firefighters and containment of these fires.
Facts on the Tehachapi fire
10 miles south of Tehachapi lies a small town where the Tehachapi fire began on Tuesday. Residents of the Old West Ranch were evacuated after the blaze started. The ranch that split up forming the community is how the fire was named with the name West Fire. A grinder was in dry grass while people began cutting scrap metal in it, starting the fire. At least 40 homes are burned, and about 1,400 acres are scorched. Approximately 150 other homes are threatened.
Information on the Bull Fire
16,000 acres have already been burnt by the Bull Fire which is burning in Kernville, CA. When the fire began, it instantly burned eight homes and six outbuildings down. Thus far, we have seen two firefighters get hurt. The cause of the Bull Fire has yet to be determined, and it is only about 5 percent contained.
The cost of fighting wildfires
Budget-strapped California has a harder time fighting wildfires right now. Now it is harder than ever to sacrifice the human cost and financial cost. Fighting a big fire can cost anywhere from $1 million to $2.5 million a day. In wildfire fighting, in one year usually more than $500 million is spent. California assigns these costs to numerous different agencies. The California State Budget does most of it. This covers fire fighting and nothing else. Because there is a State of Emergency, the money gets spent although nobody knows where it is coming from yet.
