English homework help

Findings
According to your (Gov. Newsom) recent Executive Order N-05-19, it is clear that
anthropogenic climate change is well-understood to be a key contributor to the upward trend in
wildfire severity and frequency, as well as forest maintenance practices. However, many
scientists argue that the current approaches to managing wildfires focus on fire suppression and
managing fuel build-up in wildlands, but that the reliance on these strategies alone has clearly
proven inadequate (Mahmoud & Chulahwat, 2020); it is clear we must implement more effective
Figure 1.
The number of annual wildfires in the Western United States is increasing. The severity of said
wildfires has similarly been on the rise. Both are projected to continue increasing if new solutions are
not put in place immediately (Patel, 2018).

wildfire mitigation strategies.
The Wildland-Urban Interface
In addition to climate change, the main causes of increasing wildfire risk and severity are
issues with the wildland-urban interface (WUI) and utility companies. The WUI is most
commonly defined as “an area of urban sprawl where homes and other development press
against the boundaries of public or private wildlands or rural areas” (Macie & Hermansen, 2003).
Over recent decades, the population of California has increase significantly, forcing more and
more people into the WUI where wildfire risk is naturally higher. In fact, as of 2010, California
had “more than 4.4 million homes in the wildland-urban interface, the largest number of any
other state, representing an increase of 36 percent since 1990” (Kousky et al., 2018).

Figure 2.
(Left) Area burned by
wildfires between 2000
and 2016 across the
western United States
inside and outside the
2010 WUI including a
2.5-km community
protection zone.
(Right) From 20002016,
California
had

the
highest
percentage

of
burned
area
in
the

WUI
than
any
other

state
(Schoennagel
et

al.,
2017).

Urban sprawl, or the uncontrolled expansion of urban areas, has also contributed to the
number of buildings in areas more prone to wildfires. Urbanization is detrimental to wildlands
because it directly changes forest ecosystems; deforestation, fragmentation, and other human
disturbances affect the biodiversity of native plants and animals by destroying habitats and even
leading some species to extinction. Additionally, urbanization alters water flow and increases air
pollutants, which yields adverse effects on forest health (Macie & Hermansen, 2003).
Utilities and Wildfire Costs
Another significant wildfire issue stems from utility companies. According to Kousky, et
al., only about 5% of wildfire ignitions in California are from electrical equipment; however,
when they do start, they are larger and account for nearly 11% of acres burned (Kousky et al.,
2018) because the conditions that cause powerline to start wildfires also make wildfires spread
rapidly and thus hard to contain. One aspect under particular consideration is how the costs of
utility-started wildfires are distributed. Utility companies have long sought to prevent wildfires
through “Utility Vegetation Management” (UVM), in which utilities eliminate protruding
vegetation near powerlines by trimming trees, removing bushes, spraying herbicides, and
stunting tree-growth (Nordman & Hall, 2020). UVM costs have increased as wildfire seasons
have gotten longer and more severe, as well as liability insurance premiums, which has
overburdened their share of wildfire mitigation costs in California. Because utility companies
like PG&E are unable to afford the rising costs, much of the burden further gets passed onto
ratepayers (Nordman & Hall, 2020). Issues revolving utility companies are intertwined with the
WUI, as more electrical equipment is required to reach residents living in fire-prone land and
thus creating even higher risk for wildfires to occur within the WUI. Many researchers suggest
that urban ratepayers often heavily subsidize the liabilities created by rural retail electricity users
(Kousky et al., 2018).
California also has unique inverse condemnation laws, in which property owners can
effectively recover damages against a utility company without having to prove negligence. The
effects of such policies have proven detrimental to public utility companies, as they have been
held liable for wildfire damages without proof of utility negligence, creating a significant
financial burden on these companies (Nordman & Hall, 2020). Inverse condemnation laws
significantly contribute to the imbalanced distribution of costs that fall on utility companies.
Discussion of Findings

Issue with the WUI and utility companies go hand in hand. The detrimental effects of
urbanization on nearby wildland increases risk of wildfire destruction. Similarly, increasing
population size in WUI land requires more utility involvement in fire-prone areas that leads to an
increase in wildfire occurrence and severity. As a result, public utility companies end up paying
a greater amount in wildfire costs and therefore increases customer utility rates, while urban
ratepayers are covering increased liability costs from rural areas. California’s inverse
condemnation laws also allow those inhabiting the WUI to file liability claims against utilities
without proving negligence, while ignoring the wildfire-related risks of their development into
rural communities.
Conclusion
As wildfire severity and frequency continue to rise in California, it is vital to enforce
aggressive strategies to reduce the impact of wildfires on our communities, animals, plant life,
and more. Increasing residency in the WUI poses many issues regarding wildfire risk and public
utilities, and by proxy – urban ratepayers, end up subsidizing this risk. Changes to California’s
current legislation and new policy decisions are necessary in order to mitigate death and
destruction caused by wildfires.
Recommendations

The 2020-2021 Budget Report by the Legislative Analyst’s Office recommends “the
Legislature require the development of a statewide strategic wildfire plan,” to inform and guide
state policymakers regarding the most effective strategies for responding to wildfires and
mitigating wildfire risks. As such, it is important to identify and prioritize strategies that will be
the most beneficial to California residents, land, plants, and animals. My recommendations for
you include the following:
Priority Recommendation
1
Reform inverse condemnation by eliminating strict liability for wildfires
2
Require that fire risk be quantified across geographic areas and create a ratepayer
class for WUI residents to reflect the higher risks of their location choice
3
Develop tools that better incorporate current and future risk into land use decisions
in fire-prone areas

The current inverse condemnation laws in California create situations in which utilities unjustly
cover the costs of fires caused by non-negligence, leading them toward bankruptcy. These funds
could better be allocated toward fire prevention methods, like UVM and depletion of fuel stores.
UVM is considered the most effective mitigation strategy utilities can implement for wildfire
prevention, however it is very expensive. Additional income from increased WUI utility rates
would allow utilities to invest in UVM or other fire suppression costs. Lastly, as the number of
manmade structures rise in the WUI, land use planers need tools to understand and incorporate
current and future risks to minimize the threats of wildfire to property, and, more importantly,
human lives. Risk maps developed by Cal Fire and California Public Utilities Commission could
benefit land-use practices to reduce wildfire risk.