False Claim: California isn’t ‘raking the forest’ to control wildfires
Claim
Fact
The state has now invested $2 billion in managing the forest (AKA “raking the forest”) in addition to the $200 million annual budget.
- The state has now invested $2 billion, in addition to the $200 million annually.
- California dramatically ramped up state work to increase wildland and forest resilience, as well as adding unprecedented resources to support wildfire response.
- California officials treated more than 700,000 acres of land for wildfire resilience in 2023, and prescribed fires more than doubled between 2021 and 2023. Learn more at this tracker here.
- 57% of all forested land in California is federal property, compared to just 3% of forested land being managed by the State.
More Lies ...
California did NOT cut firefighting budgets months before LA wildfires
The number of CalFIRE personnel has nearly doubled since 2019 and their budget has nearly doubled since 2019
No, California’s smelt fish policy did not lead to the LA wildfires.
This is an outlandish connection to make. The policy is not about water availability in Southern California.
California did NOT run out of water while fighting the LA wildfires
Water reservoirs in Southern California were at record levels. There was no shortage of water in Southern California.