Strong Bipartisan Support for Wildfire Resilience Investments, New Poll Finds

Sixty percent of California voters support dedicating up to 2 percent of the state budget—over $6 billion—to reducing wildfire risk, according to a poll released Tuesday by the Wildfire Solutions Coalition. The Coalition of over 60 business groups, environmental organizations, utilities, and community foundation is seeking to raise $2.5-$3 billion annually for wildfire prevention. For context, wildfires have cost the California economy roughly $117 billion per year over the past decade. The Bay Area Council joined the Coalition as an Executive Committee member last July, following a presentation and discussion at the Council’s Water & Climate Resilience Committee. 

The Bay Area Council has leaned heavily into wildfire prevention policy in recent years, including funding studies in Paradise and Sonoma County through our California Resilience Challenge on the impact of community hardening on insurance affordability and business models for expanding local saw mill production. The Bay Area Council Economic Institute has also analyzed market opportunities for woody biomass in the East Bay Hills and is currently partnering with the U.S. Forest Service to educate the region’s developers on the opportunities for using mass timber. To engage with the Council’s Water & Climate Resilience Committee please contact Senior Vice President Adrian Covert.