From Shasta To San Diego, Wildfires Will Impact Malibu

We’ve been telling you about how the state’s utilities are handling their new authroity to kill the power to areas where high winds cause a fire danger.

Malibu has been notified that electricity service can be cut off by Southern California Edison … if it makes the determination that its power lines could cause a fire due to a powerline failure due to high winds.

The company says it expects to pull the switch between 2 to 10 times at various locations in its huge service area … with Malibu likely to be blacked out n severe wind storms.

In San Diego … the utility there says it will set up 8 community centers in wind prone areas … where people can evacuate to during wind blackouts.

San Diego Gas and Electric is also paying for a water dropping helicopter to be used by the local fire agency … to help put out fires.

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In far northern California …Interstate 5 remains closed near Mount Shasta … as yet another wildfire is chewing up the mountains of northern California.

With peak fire season yet to arrive here in Malibu … that leaves the question:

Is there enough money to put out fires this fall.

California’s firefighting agency is running out of money … and needs another 234 million dollars to just make it through the middle of next year.

CalFire officials yesterday wrote a letter to legislators …  that the agency has chewed through 432 million dollars in July and August alone.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports the state will probably dip into budget reserves for the eighth time in 10 years to cover the cost of putting out wildfires.

This is the earliest Cal Fire has ever had to ask the state for more money.

That big fire is Shasta County grew to 22,000 acres last night, forcing mandatory evacuations.

Meanwhile comes the news that residents and business owners have filed more than 845 million dollars in insurance claims as a result of this summer’s Carr and Mendocino Complex wildfires.

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