BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2465
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 2465 (Chesbro)
As Amended August 18, 2014
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |77-0 |(May 27, 2014) |SENATE: |34-0 |(August 20, |
| | | | | |2014) |
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Original Committee Reference: NAT. RES.
SUMMARY : Requires the Department of Forestry and Fire
Protection (CAL FIRE) to create a uniformed prescribed burn plan
template for forest fuel treatment. Requires CAL FIRE and the
Air Resources Board (ARB) to develop a webpage that contains the
uniformed prescribed burn plan template and centralizes state
information pertinent to prescribed burning for the purpose of
promoting prescribed fire as a fuel treatment technique.
The Senate amendments :
1)Make changes to the findings and declaration language.
2)Authorize CAL FIRE to list qualified and certified burners on
the prescribed burn webpage.
3)Authorize CAL FIRE to contract with an institution within the
University of California with an expertise in fire research
and outreach for the purpose of developing the prescribed burn
webpage and/or the uniformed prescribed burn plan template.
4)Make clarifying and clean up amendments.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill:
1)Made findings and declaration regarding wildfires and
prescribed burns.
2)Assisted landowners in conducting prescribed burns for the
purpose of forest fuel treatment, required CAL FIRE, in
consultation with ARB and local air districts, to, no later
than July 1, 2015, do all of the following:
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a) Develop a page on CAL FIRE's Web site that provides all
of the following:
i) Information on the regulations governing prescribed
burns for forest fuel treatment;
ii) Specific information about permissive burn days and
no-burn days;
iii) The uniform prescribed burn template;
iv) Contact information for the offices at CAL FIRE,
ARB, and local air districts that can assist a person who
is interested in a prescribed burn for forest fuel
treatment; and,
v) Any other information that CAL FIRE determines is
appropriate regarding prescribed burns for forest fuel
treatment.
b) Develop a uniform prescribed burn template. Requires
the template to provide assistance to a person, who is
interested in conducting forest fuel treatment through a
prescribed burn, to do all of the following:
i) Use best management practices to ensure the owner
exercises due diligence in controlling the burn;
ii) Minimize impacts to the environment and public
health while maximizing the fire resiliency of the
treated forest; and,
iii) Obtain the appropriate regulatory approval from CAL
FIRE and local air districts.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee:
1)One-time costs of $170,000 from the General Fund for CAL FIRE
to develop the information required on the Internet Web site
and the uniform prescribed burn template.
2)Minor and absorbable ongoing costs from the General Fund for
CAL FIRE to maintain the Internet Web site and to update its
content as necessary.
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COMMENTS : For thousands of years, California's forests were
sculpted by frequent, low- to moderate-intensity wildfires.
However, fire suppression, the preferential harvest of
large-diameter trees, and forestland conversion over the past
150 years have worsened fuel conditions over millions of acres
of forests such that recent wildfires have tended to be larger
and more severe, and this trend will likely continue given
climate change.
Fire experts generally recognize that if hazardous fuels (e.g.,
downed wood, shrubs, intermediate-size trees that can carry fire
into the forest canopy) are not reduced, the number of severe
wildland fires and the costs associated with suppressing them
will continue to increase. For example, the cost to respond to
last year's Rim Fire, which burned more than 250,000 acres in
the central Sierra Nevada region, was estimated at $125.8
million as of September 27, 2013. In 2008, the Basin Complex
and Indians Fire in Monterey County burned almost 240,000 acres
and cost approximately $120 million. These two fires are
considered among the largest and most costly in state history.
The ecological impacts of these larger fires are also
significant. Preliminary reports show that the Rim Fire
severely altered the habitat that is home to several of
California's rarest animals: the great gray owl, the Sierra
Nevada red fox, and the Pacific fisher. These fires also
uncover sediments that erode into streams, affecting various
types of fish and wildlife.
A recent scientific article published by the Journal of
Bioscience, explains that forest fuel reduction using prescribed
fire and mechanical treatment (i.e., removal of small trees with
heavy equipment and/or grinding up small trees and shrubs) is
generally effective at reducing future fire intensity and
improving tree health without negatively impacting understory
vegetation, soil density or erosion, wildlife, or carbon
storage.
(http://www.fs.fed.us/psw/publications/fettig/psw_2012_fettig001(
stephens).pdf)
Prescribed fire is a relatively inexpensive way to reduce
surface and ladder fuels. Mechanical treatments are generally
more expensive, though the small and intermediate sized trees
removed can produce wood products such as saw logs or biomass
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chips to offset treatment costs. This is highly dependent,
however, on the proximity of the site to a sawmill or biomass
facility since transporting chips and logs is relatively high.
On March 11, 2014, the author's office held a stakeholder
workshop on fuel treatment. During this workshop, some of the
stakeholders expressed interest in the creation of a uniformed
prescribed burn plan template (similar to templates developed
throughout the country) to help provide private forestland
owners with information needed to conduct prescribe fire in a
manner that meets all regulatory requirements and promotes due
diligence. It was also apparent during the workshop discussions
that forest landowners could benefit from better communication
and coordination with CAL FIRE, ARB, and local air districts.
This bill will create a uniformed prescribed burn plan template
and require CAL FIRE and ARB to develop a webpage that contains
the template and centralizes existing information maintained by
CAL FIRE and ARB to help people utilize state resources
regarding prescribed fire.
Analysis Prepared by : Mario DeBernardo / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092
FN: 0005144