Each year is different, but this one should be really different in terms of government spending. As we all know, Federal and State governments have large deficits. Though we have known this for years, this will probably be the year in which we will see budgets deeply affected.

Governor Brown has introduced budget proposals to reduce the $25 billion deficit that California faces, and while they are all important, the ones affecting Cal Fire are most relevant to our community. There are at least two areas in which we may be affected. The first is the proposal to reduce the personnel on fire engines from 4 to 3. The budget narrative states that personnel were increased after the 2003 Cedar Fire from 3 to 4, but Cal Fire's initial attack effectiveness has not changed since then, making it reasonable to assume the fourth fire fighter can be dropped without affecting overall effectiveness.

I asked local USFS Division Chief Dan Felix what he thought about this move, and he was not for it. The Forest Service actually aims to have 5 people per engine. The reason for this, Dan explained, was that in wildland fire the critical action is laying hose, and you need people to do it. In a typical case, an engineer will be attending to the engine while the captain is focused on the situation. This leaves 3 people to lay hose. If you have 4 people on the engine, 2 are laying hose, and so if you have an engine with 3 people, you are down to 1 person laying hose. Not very effective, in his view.

I also asked IFPD Chief Norm Walker, who was Division Chief in a prior life, what he thought about 3 people per engine, and he felt the same way. He said it takes people power to get hose up the hill in a wildland fire. He also thought the economics were wrong, since if the fourth team member helps you catch one fire early and prevent it from becoming major; you have paid for the cost of the fourth person for years in saved suppression costs.

The other proposal that affects Cal Fire has to do with a major aim of the Governor's budget, what the narrative calls "a vast and historic realignment of government services". Governor Brown seeks to place some government services presently held by the state at local levels, reversing a 30 trend in which decision-making has made its way to Sacramento, away from the counties. Putting program responsibility back in the counties in areas like child welfare, firefighting, and emergency response would eliminate duplication for programs that exist both at state and local levels. Brown also believes that local control allows for greater effectiveness, efficiency, and a higher level of citizen input.

One role that would be given back to cities and counties is wildland fire fighting and emergency medical services in some of the 31 million acres known as SRAs, or state responsibility areas. (The western slope below Idyllwild and Pine Cove is SRA.) Development in these rural lands has increased population over the years, and Cal Fire responded to over 60,000 emergency medical calls in these areas, which is not part of Cal Fire's wildland fire mission. The proposal would ask the Board of Forestry to reexamine SRAs with new criteria, which would presumably place more land and services under the control of counties. Money would follow to some degree, and the budget estimates about $250 million would return to counties to support increased SRA responsibility.

I think pushing responsibility down to the counties is generally good, so I like this effort. I am less enthused about dropping the fourth firefighter on wildland engines. But of course, all proposals will be the focus of intense struggle over the coming months, and outcomes are unpredictable. Stay tuned.