Instead of a fire monitor put the homeless to work clearing the forests.
Via Fox News:
California’s new governor on Tuesday proposed spending $105 million more annually on wildfire safety in the wake of devastating fires that have cost billions of dollars in damage.
The funding increase would allow for more helicopters, remote infrared cameras that can help detect fires, better alert systems and new technologies for tapping satellite images, the Sacramento Bee reported.
“Broad strokes, we are stepping up our game. I hear you, I get it, we have to do more,” Democrat Gavin Newsom, 51, said during his first full day in office alongside emergency service officials at a California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) station.
The increase in funding would be in addition to the $200 million the state’s Legislature already set aside last fall for the state’s forestry management, bringing new spending to $305 million, Newsom said.
Part of the proposed increase would be spent overhauling the state’s 911 system, the Bee reported. Newsom said he wants to spend $10 million this year and $50 million next year, and wants the expenses to eventually be covered by Californians through a “relatively modest” fee on their monthly phone bills.