California bill would speed removal of dead trees, brush in high-risk wildfire areas

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) Burn scars near Caliente are underscoring a long-running debate in California over how to balance wildfire prevention with environmental protections, as a new bill seeks to speed up fuel-reduction work in high-risk areas. Assembly Bill 2410 would allow for the quick removal of dead brush and trees to prevent wildfires by exempting critical fuel reduction projects from the requirement to procure a coastal development permit. Assemblymember Stan Ellis, who proposed the legislation, said the bill grew from Gov. Gavin Newsom’s emergency proclamation. “If you got a fuels fire hazard problem, you shouldn’t have to spend three years with CEQA to get a permit to go in and clear the brush,” Ellis said. We’ve lost our common sense.

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