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California's New Governor Pledges Millions To Tackle Wildfires

During his first full day in office Tuesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom pledged to invest $105 million to help California deal with wildfires.
Posted at 11:47 AM, Jan 09, 2019
and last updated 2019-01-09 11:47:23-05

California's new governor isn't wasting any time dealing with the state's wildfire crisis.

During his first full day in office Tuesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom pledged to invest $105 million to help California better prepare for, respond to and recover from wildfires.

That's in addition to a $200 million plan lawmakers approved last year to bolster the state's wildfire prevention efforts.

Newsom said in a statement: "It's not a coincidence that my first full day as Governor is focused on emergency preparedness. It's deliberate, it reflects intentionality, and it speaks to the priority that I place on emergency preparedness, response and recovery."

Just one day after Newsom's pledge, President Donald Trump said he plans to order FEMA to stop sending California money to fight fires. He's accused the state of poor forest management.

Both moves come as Northern California continues to recover from the devastating Camp Fire that started late last year. The blaze was the deadliest wildfire in the state's history.

Additional reporting from Newsy affiliate CNN.