SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Governor Gavin Newsom held a news briefing Thursday to discuss wildfire preparedness during the COVID-19 pandemic.
California has already had 4,000 fires so far this year.
Last year the state saw about 2,500 fires.
However, Governor Newsom said the size of the fires have substantially decreased.
As California enters peak fire season in the late summer and early fall, the state is preparing for the possibility of devastating wildfires amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
"One of the more important investments was an $85.6 million investment to provide a new permanent workforce for Cal Fire. We're adding an additional 172 members, full-time equipment, staff to our team. That is a significant increase and those are not seasonal workers. That's baseline support for Cal Fire."
Newsom also addressed the potential of PG&E power shutoff, which was done last year in an attempt to prevent wildfires.
He said PG&E has been ordered to update its infrastructure and its power grid, which would allow it to turn off power more precisely and turn it back on more quickly.
