In Sacramento this morning, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced a state of emergency in Kern County. The Tehachapi fire, also known as the west fire, has been contained 25 percent. The Bull Fire is only 5 percent contained. The State of Emergency allows cash-strapped California to spend money on firefighters and containment.
Facts on the Tehachapi fire
The Tehachapi Fire, centered in a small community 10 miles south of Tehachapi, began on Tuesday. After flames began consuming the town, Old West Ranch residents were forced to leave. The fire has been officially named the West Fire, following the ranch that was split up to form the community. A grinder was in dry grass when individuals started cutting scrap metal in it, beginning the fire. Now you will find 40 homes that no longer stand as well as 1,400 acres which were burned. 150 other homes have had to evacuate.
Bull Fire info
The Bull Fire started in Kernville, California and burns 16,000 acres already. When the fire began, it immediately burned eight homes and six outbuildings down. Two firefighters have already been injured while fighting this fire. Nobody knows why the Bull Fire started and only about 5 percent of it has been contained so far.
Wildfires expenses
In budget-strapped California, fighting wildfire is an incredibly expensive proposition. Not only the human cost of possible firefighter deaths, but the financial cost. $1 million to $2.5 million is about what it costs per day to fight fires. More than $500 million is spent on an “average” wildfire fighting year. California assigns these costs to many different agencies. The majority of the cost is carried by the California state spending budget. Nothing is covered on this except the actual containment of the fire. Because there is a State of Emergency, the money gets spent although nobody knows where it is coming from yet.
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