February 18th, 2004

CALIFORNIA RESOURCES SECRETARY AND USDA FOREST SERVICE ANNOUNCE FEDERAL GRANT FOR WILDFIRE RECOVERY EFFORTS IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

California Resources Secretary Mike Chrisman and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service today announced a $150 million federal grant to help southern California wildfire recovery efforts and address the tree mortality emergency in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, San Bernardino and Ventura counties.

"This USDA grant will continue the federal government's assistance in the California fire recovery efforts and rehabilitation," said Governor Schwarzenegger. "The funding will also support efforts to help the southern California forests weakened by drought and insect infestation."

The grant is provided through the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service's Emergency Watershed Protection Program (EWP). USDA/NRCS will continue to work in partnership with local, state and federal agencies to ensure public safety and to address restoration efforts on private lands. This funding is in addition to the more than $9 million for emergency environmental restoration work in southern California that USDA provided in November of 2003.

"The recent wildfires caused devastation on a scale many of us have not seen before in our lifetimes," said Mike Chrisman, Secretary for Resources. "We are pleased to announce this USDA grant which provides wildfire recovery efforts, as well as tree mortality emergency funding in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, San Bernardino and Ventura counties."

The southern California fires burned 739,597 acres, took 22 human lives and cost more than $250 million to contain. Numerous cities and urban communities have infrastructure-basins, waterways, culverts, roads, homes and businesses-that are at significant risk from mud and debris flows expected from the burned areas.

Many homes are located adjacent to steep burned hillsides with no cover. Existing debris basins may be overloaded from increased sediment and debris flows if significant rainfall occurs and several domestic water supply reservoirs are at risk from debris and sediment contamination. Rehabilitation efforts will provide erosion control measures that are economically and environmentally defensible.

EWP measures include reseeding burned areas, placing sediment traps on slopes, constructing trash racks to trap large rocks and boulders, enlarging existing debris basins to increase capacity, and placing sandbags and other barriers to protect property.

USDA has also committed more than $48 million in fiscal year 2004 for hazardous fuel reduction projects.

Information on NRCS wildfire recovery efforts can be found on the Web at http://www.ca.nrcs.usda.gov and on EWP at www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/EWP.

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