California and Nevada Governors Declare State of Emergency for Catastrophic Wildfire

Posted by High Sierra Rural Alliance

May 30, 2008

A state of emergency was declared Tuesday in the Lake Tahoe basin by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons, who took the advice of a two-state commission that declared the region ripe for catastrophic fire.

The emergency declarations mean more money and resources will be sunk into fuel removal projects, fire department personnel and fire prevention techniques over the next 10 years in an attempt to reduce the threat to life and property.

"We will not rest until this crown jewel is as safe as it is beautiful," Schwarzenegger said before the two governors brandished pens to sign the document, which affects Placer and El Dorado counties in California and Douglas and Washoe counties and Carson City in Nevada.

At that moment, the skies opened up and hail began falling, forcing the group of dignitaries, including Sen. Dianne Feinstein, to abandon the podium and scramble into a nearby fire station for shelter.

The rainy-day announcement came on the heels of the release of the 246-page California-Nevada Tahoe Basin Fire Commission final report, which made a series of recommendations on how to prevent catastrophic fires like the Angora Fire, which destroyed 254 homes last year.

Read more at SFGate.