The cost of fighting fire is growing, not just in California, but nationwide.
For the first time in its 110 year history, the US Forest Service is spending more than 50 percent of its budget putting out wildfires.
Fire seasons are now 78 days longer than they were in the 1970’s.
In California, the US Forest Service Pacific Southwest Region spent nearly 40 percent of its budget on fire suppression, up from 30 percent in 2013.
Statewide, the numbers aren’t looking much better for Cal Fire. In the first three weeks of this fiscal year alone, fire suppression costs have escalated to $71 million, that's almost a fifth of Cal Fire's $392 million budget for the year.
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