“Robbing Peter to pay Paul” and “thumb in the dike” describe the way the federal government has been funding the cost of fighting the nation’s wildfires. President Obama’s new budget proposal could change the current arrangement.
The Obama Administration has a budget proposal that would change the way it protects the country’s 70,000 communities surrounded by forests.
Allison Sherry reports that “the departments of Agriculture and Interior had to transfer $463 million in 2012 and $636 million in 2013 to fight fires.” The transfers amount to “cribbing cash to fight fires from the same pot used for suppression and prevention.”
Under a proposal a new proposal by the Obama Administration, "the costs to fight severe wildfires — those that require emergency response or are near urban areas — would be funded through a new ‘wildfire suppression cap adjustment.’ This funding mechanism removes firefighting cash from regular discretionary budget caps, thus protecting prevention funds."
Read the full story: Obama administration seeks new funding plan for wildfires
The Incredible, Rising Cost of Forest Fires
The kicker in a recent article about the current realities of forest fires—and the cost of fighting them—in the United States: The federal government spends 624 percent more on fires than it did 20 years ago.
Wildfires have burned 2.3 million acres this year — before wildfire season
This year's fires are not contained to the West, with wildfires destroying hundreds of thousands of acres in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas.
The Overlooked Spaces That Can Prevent the Spread of Fire
The space between homes can as much as double a chance’s home of survival during a fire.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
US buildings threatened, destroyed by fires set to triple by 2060
Researchers found a high fire risk for socioeconomically vulnerable neighborhoods in the American West.
LA residents may be allowed to paint their own crosswalks
Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky put out a motion instructing the Los Angeles Department of Public Transportation to study the feasibility of allowing volunteers to paint crosswalks.
Dallas moves to overhaul its zoning code
The city's zoning reform will allow more multi-family and mixed-use developments.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
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Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
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