More than 130 homes were lost when the Mountain Fire raged through Camarillo last November and the Thomas Fire destroyed over a thousand structures in Ventura in 2017. Both fires were in a district that Democratic Assemblymember Steve Bennett of Ventura represents.
The legislator is co-hosting a town hall in Ventura on Thursday about wildfire preparedness. According to Bennett, being prepared for when—not if—disaster strikes, is critical.
"In December of 2017 when the Thomas Fire hit, it was the largest fire in the history of California," said Bennett. "Here we are just a little bit more than six years later and the Thomas Fire is only the eighth largest fire in California's history. Number one, it's critically important and yes, we can be much better prepared. We don't have Pacific Palisades burning down because Mrs. O 'Leary's cow kicked over a lantern. We have it now because wildfire winds are driving ember showers in. My point is the things we did to address fire [in the past] work. But now we need to do different things to address a different kind of fire that we're experiencing in Southern California," he added.
Home hardening, brush clearance, and fire insurance rates are all up for discussion.
"Climate change has reached a tipping point. The winds are more intense, the droughts are drier, the climate has changed in a number of ways and so now far more of California is at risk from a wildfire than before. If we don't get better prepared and we continue to have these fires sweeping into urban communities and ember showers taking the fire deeper and deeper into these urban communities from the wildfire, our home insurance rates will become astronomical and have a devastating impact on the quality of life and the economy of California," said the legislator.
Bennett says it’s critical for the future that there’s new legislation to ensure water supply readiness.
"Making sure that our hydrants provide the maximum fire flow that they're capable of. This legislation that I have is going to apply to Ventura County first and then next year we're going to try to do the same legislation for the whole state."
"It says if you're a water district that supplies water to a high-fire risk area when you're notified by the county operation emergency service that 'We have the right conditions,' then you have to start filling your tanks up," Bennett continued. "You have to in advance have already prepared to have backup generating power and you also have to harden the structure. So the burden is on the water district to do those things. These are things that there's no requirement that they do it. The fire departments have come to us and said, 'You know, we can't make them do these things.' That's what the state legislation is for."
The Town Hall happens Thursday evening from 6:30 to 8:30 at the Ventura County Government Center. It will also be livestreamed.
