05/10/2008 En Español
Governor Schwarzenegger Discusses Bolstering State’s Firefighting Resources in Weekly Radio Address
Hi, this is Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger with another California Report.
Our
fantastic summer weather is
one of the big reasons California is
such a great place to live and to work and to vacation.
However, these dry months also make our
state especially vulnerable to
wildfires.
That
is why I proclaimed May 4th - 10th as Wildfire
Awareness Week.
Now,
everyone remembers the devastation from last year's firestorms in Southern California.
10 people were killed, 518,000 acres burned, and more than 3,000 homes and structures were
destroyed.
It
also resulted in the largest deployment of firefighting resources in our
state's history.
This
year, fire season has already begun and
we need every firefighting tool on ready
alert, so we can spring to action when
disaster strikes.
On Friday, I signed an Executive Order directing
Cal Fire to
immediately mobilize additional
personnel and equipment.
This
means more fire crews, more
engines, more helicopters, and
more planes, including
the Supertanker Aircraft, which
can drop 12,000 gallons of water or
fire retardant on a single flight.
But the public needs to do its part too.
90 percent of California's
wildfires are caused by people.
So I have instructed Cal Fire to step up education and enforcement of our fire laws.
We will be more aggressive in cracking down on
dangerous and illegal fireworks.
And we are going to start citing property owners who
don't follow the 100 foot defensible space rule.
I urge all Californians to be smart, be vigilant, and obey our fire laws.
Working together, we can protect our communities and
protect California's beautiful natural resources for years to come.
Thank
you for listening.
