Newsom proclaims state of emergency ahead of wildfire season

LOS ANGELES — Gov. Gavin Newsom proclaimed a state of emergency Saturday “to fast-track critical projects protecting communities from wildfire, ahead of peak fire season.”

The proclamation will cut bureaucratic red tape, including suspending the California Environmental Quality Act and the Coastal Act, that Newsom said was slowing down critical forest management projects.

“This year has already seen some of the most destructive wildfires in California history, and we’re only in March. Building on unprecedented work cutting red tape and making historic investments — we’re taking action with a state of emergency to fast-track critical wildfire projects even more,” Newsom said. “These are the forest management projects we need to protect our communities most vulnerable to wildfire, and we*re going to get them done.”

Saturday’s proclamation includes the following provisions:

— Suspends environmental regulations, including CEQA and the Coastal Act, as needed to expedite fuels reduction projects. Projects include vegetation and tree removal, adding fuel breaks, prescribed fire, and more.

— Allows non-state entities to conduct approved fuels reduction work with expedited and streamlined approval.

— Directs state agencies to submit recommendations for increasing the pace and scale of prescribed fire.

— Increases the California Vegetation Treatment Program’s efficiency and utilization, in order to continue promoting rapid environmental review for large wildfire risk reduction treatments.

Newsom is also asking Congress to approve nearly $40 billion in aid to help Los Angeles recover from January’s wildfires, which many officials have described as the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history.

At least 16,250 structures were destroyed in the Palisades and Eaton fires, which broke out Jan. 7 amid winds that topped 100 mph.