As we prepare for a week of triple digit temperatures, we hear more frequently the evacuation warnings for fire throughout the North State, and it is becoming harder to not be gravely concerned about our future. And the catastrophic drought that is upon us is contributing to the fire danger and to our ability to even live here.
In an article by Steve Schonover in the Enterprise Record on July 4th called ‘Dealing with drought: Farmers challenged as water supply dwindles’, Paul Gosselin, who was until recently the Director of the Butte County Department of Water and Resource Conservation, was quoted as saying, “As bad as this year is going to get — and we know it’s going to be bad — we need to be prepared.” Gosselin went on to say, “because if there’s another dry winter we’re in uncharted waters.”
In the same article, Barbara Vlamis of AquAlliance, blamed the state for giving farmers unrealistic expectations of availability of water. She said, “The state of California does not have a backbone and has allocated five times more water than is available.” She went on to say that “The state has given growers very distorted views what their potential is, and that quote “We live in a system that’s broken, then act surprised when there’s no water.”
With this growing water crisis and the very real fire danger, tonight on The Real Issue, we will talk about the fact that everyone in this community must get even more involved in preventing the conditions that contribute to drought and the misuse of our water in general, and preparing for possible fires…not only wild fires in the foothills, but even within the more urban cities towns. We no longer have the luxury of assuming our elected officials and government bureaucrats will do the right things.
We will spend the first half of The Real Issue talking with Executive Director of AquAlliance Barbara Vlamis, about that we all need to be doing to protect our water today and into the future.
Then, during the second half of the program, we will talk with Brenda Rigthmyer, of the Yankee Hill Fire Safe Council about the current fire danger, and how to prevent and prepare for wildfire in our community.
