Calif. adds $70 million to firefighting efforts
By Sam Stanton, Sacramento Bee
Firefighters may have finally gotten the upper hand on the massive King Fire, but its legacy continues as the state wrestles with how to pay millions in firefighting costs incurred in what is being called one of the worst fire years in recent history.
On Monday, state Department of Finance officials notified lawmakers that the $209 million set aside in the budget for emergency firefighting already has been exhausted, and that officials are transferring another $70 million from a special account into the emergency fund because of fires in numerous counties.
