California Looks To Australia For Drought Tips

As the drought continues, California is looking to Australia for ideas. The state signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Australian state of Victoria to share knowledge and training in wildfire and flood management Monday.

Mark Ghilarducci directs the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services. He says Victoria weathered a 13-year drought and can teach California a few things.

"Their collaboration with us, their best practices, how they ended up actually changing the culture of Australia to be more water efficient and more conservation oriented, those are great lessons for California," he says.

Ghilarducci says wildfires are also a fact of life in Australia. He says California is as prepared as it can be for the coming fire season. But he says people have to be prepared and cautious as well.

Cal Fire says 95 percent of wildfires are human caused.