KABC: Sen. Alex Padilla pushes for wildfire prevention legislation during Pacific Palisades visit
By Rob Hayes
California Sen. Alex Padilla toured parts of fire-ravaged Pacific Palisades Thursday, checking on recovery progress while pushing wildfire prevention legislation he has introduced to the Senate.
Standing in front of contractors constructing a new home, Padilla pitched his Fix Our Forests Act as a way to speed up recovery and prevent future catastrophic wildfires.
“As you see with the framing happening behind us, the beginning of the rebuilding and recovery of these important communities,” he said at a news conference in a scorched Palisades neighborhood.
Joining Padilla in touring the Palisades burn area was California Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot and Cal Fire Assistant Region Chief Joshua Nettles.
The three say Padilla’s legislation will help coordinate efforts from state, federal and private fire experts, streamline the permitting process for rebuilding and create a national wildfire intelligence center to make federal forest management more efficient and responsive.
“This is all about removing red tape to get these wildfire safety projects on the ground more quickly, ensuring coordination between the many federal agencies… and getting more beneficial practices back on the landscape,” Crowfoot said.
Turning legislation into law, though, is not common these days in Washington.
Padilla says his bill is an “improved” version of a bipartisan bill that has already cleared the House. It’s popularity he says is based on the fact that it would benefit states from both sides of the aisle.
“Both Republicans and Democrats from red and blue states know the urgency, not just the importance, but the urgency of these measures,” Padilla said. “So we’re hopeful (it will become law).”
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