Did California cut $100 million from its fire budget? Yes and no.

California Governor Gavin Newsom introduced California Fire Factsa new webpage to combat misinformation and debunk rumors about the Los Angeles fires. Unfortunately, it doesn’t provide as much clarity as it could.

False and misleading information about the Los Angeles fires is spreading quickly on social media, with many users pointing fingers and trying to place blame for the disaster. At least 24 people have died as a result of the fires so far.Bye More than 12,000 buildings destroyed.

One of the most persistent rumors circulating about the Los Angeles fires is that in the months leading up to this crisis, millions of dollars in funding were cut from the fire department. In response to such reports, the California Fire Facts website states that “CalFIRE’s number [California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection] staff has almost doubled since 2019 (from 5,829 to 10,741),” and that “CalFIRE’s budget has nearly doubled since 2019 (from $2 billion to $3.8 billion).”

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While the numbers don’t line up perfectly, the increase is somewhat supported by California data. Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO). LAO is a nonpartisan organization that offers independent analysis of California’s state budget and advises legislators on fiscal and political policy issues. It states that CalFIRE has been allocated $2.525 billion and authority for 7,182.5 employees in Budget 2018-19while Budget 2024–25 gave it $4.249 billion and powers for 12,511.5 employees.

However, this doesn’t really address the information Newsom is trying to debunk. In particular, California Fire Facts does not directly address the claim that the state cut $100 million from its fire budget last year alone, instead focusing on its history since 2019.

It makes sense that Newsom chose clear and simple messages to reach as many people as possible. But without explanation and sources, it seems unlikely that the current version of California Fire Facts will make speculation or rumors much easier.

$100 million cut in California wildfire funding explained

Newsweek reports this. Last week, an LAO analysis found that Newsom’s 2024-25 state budget cut funding for wildfire management and forest resiliency by $101 million. This may sound depressing, but LAO Deputy Legislative Analyst for Environment and Transportation Rachel Ehlers explained to Mashable that the situation is not that simple.

Ehlers explained that the LAO report cited by Newsweek is a summary of Newsom’s reports. proposed The budget for 2024-2025, not the one that was actually implemented. While this proposed budget did include a $101 million cut to California wildfire funding, that cut would come from the special $2.4 billion one-time wildfire funding package that was previously agreed to. This forest and bushfire resilience package is designed to last for four years.

The 2024–2025 budget that was ultimately adopted was, in fact, cut the Forest and Wildfire Resilience package by $144 million. — $43 million more than Newsom proposed. Ehlers noted that such changes were made to address California’s $55 Billion Budget Deficitand were necessary for the state to adopt a balanced budget.

However, even this larger $144 million cut still increased California wildfire funding year-over-year, simply reducing planned additional funding.

“Let me emphasize: these were cuts to one-time additions, not cuts to current core programs and CalFire funding,” Ehlers said. “[M]Most of these cuts were due to planned expansion of departments other than CalFire, such as forest and fire resiliency activities on public lands in state preserves and parks.”

The biggest reduction came from the Department of Conservation’s biomass-to-hydrogen/biofuels pilot project, which will now receive $5 million under the Forest and Bushfire Resilience Package instead of $50 million. Although CalFIRE’s share of the Forest and Wildfire Resilience Package was cut by $30 million across various programs, it will still receive $1.73 billion in additional funding.

The LAO estimates that CalFIRE’s total spending increased from $2.74 billion in the 2019-20 fiscal year to $4.43 billion in 2023-24 (not adjusted for inflation). To date, $4.59 billion has been spent in 2024-25, but that does not yet include additional costs related to the Los Angeles wildfires.

“These measures do not reflect annual reductions from 2023-24 to 2024-25,” Ehlers said, referring to cuts under the Forest and Bushfire Resilience Package. “This reflects a reduction of $144 million from the total $2.8 billion in planned one-time excess appropriations that were to be made available over four years to various departments for various wildfire mitigation and forest sustainability activities. [emphasis original]”

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass cut LAFD funding by $17.6 million?

Some attention has also been drawn to Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who has been accused of cutting funding for the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) by $17.6 million.

LAFD received $819.6 million budget for fiscal year 2024-25which is $17.6 million less than the previous year $837.2 million. Both of these figures were increased from Bass’s original proposed budget in $814.3 million And $835.4 million respectively.

The cut has also come under particular criticism when compared to appropriations in the rest of Los Angeles’ 2024-25 budget. The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) received a significant increase in funding, from $1.86 billion last year to $1.98 billion this year. That’s a $125.9 million budget increase—more than a sixth of the LAFD’s budget.

However Los Angeles Times reports that the 2024-25 budget did not include significant pay increases for firefighters that were still being negotiated when it came into effect. The LAFD ultimately received an additional $53 million for firefighter salaries, as well as $58 million for new fire engines and other equipment. With this funding, the LAFD budget has actually increased since last year.

Despite this, Los Angeles Fire Chief Christine Crowley argues that the LAFD has been underfunded for years, and additional funding still appears to be insufficient to address the existing problem.

“Any budget cuts will impact our ability to provide services,” Crowley told Fox News affiliate KTTV. “We are screaming to be properly funded so our firefighters can do their jobs and we can serve the public.”

Crowley had previously expressed disappointment over the $17.6 million cut. in a memo last Decemberstating that the $7 million reduction in employee overtime included in this “severely limited the Department’s ability to prepare, train and respond to large-scale emergencies, including wildfires.” This memorandum was issued after the above additional funding was approved.

However, Bass argues that further LAFD funding would not have changed the outcome of the current Los Angeles fires, noting the “unprecedented storm” that triggered the disaster. Extreme winds up to 100 mph (160 km/h) ignite forest fires, making them extremely difficult to contain.

“I think if you go back and look at the cuts that have been made, you will see that there were no cuts that made any difference to the situation that we have been facing over the last few days.” Bass said this at a recent press conference..