EHL was quoted on the Governor’s folly of increasing housing in fire-prone locations.
The Los Angeles Times covered SB 610, the bill that would eliminate the fire hazard classifications so important for directing development away from natural habitat and fire danger (“California bill would abolish state fire hazard rankings; ‘true insanity,’ critics say,” Aug. 11, 2024). EHL was aksed to comment.
The proposal is “true insanity,” said Dan Silver, executive director of the Endangered Habitats League.
Silver said the goal of expediting fire-adapted development, as outlined in Wiener’s fact sheet, will not render communities safer.
“Studies show just the opposite, and evacuation is a critical factor that the bill does not even consider,” he said.
The online journal Politico (“Fire maps are a flaming hot mess,” Aug. 8, 2024) also published a story about SB 610.
“This is a catastrophic change in policy for California,” said Dan Silver, CEO of the conservation group Endangered Habitats League. “It’s a big lie that development in these danger zones can be rendered ‘safe.’”
