 All right, well good morning everyone. Welcome to the State Operations Center and we're going to give you a quick update on the wildfire response and the latest efforts across the state that's involved in assisting all those that have been impacted by these wildfires. I'm Mark Guilarducci, Director of the Governor's Office of Emergency Services here in California and we're going to hear from a number of other public safety leaders to give you an update specifically on what has been going on and what the plan is moving forward. After today's press conference we will take your questions. Let me start off by saying again how concerned we are for the communities that have been impacted, express our sympathy for those who have had loss and we know this is a very stressful time and many people have lost their homes and we are going to be working closely with the county, the counties that have had this loss and we're working with our federal partners as well in being able to step in and assist where we can. We know it's been a stressful situation and we'll continue to think about all of you in every decision that we make. Here at the State Operations Center we are running a 24-7 operation. There's some multi-agencies. Everybody who has a responsibility and responding to these fires is represented here at every level of government and this center will remain fully activated until we are mitigating the situation completely. So we're continuing to be all hands on deck. Currently we have thousands of state, local and federal firefighters on the line, over 13,000 and several hundred emergency management and law enforcement as well as over 1200 national guard assets to support local authorities through this period of time. You'll know more about that when we get specific briefings in a second. We've also reached out to our neighboring states and also out of country for additional assistance which is arriving as we speak and we're very appreciative of our partner states for being able to provide these resources to us. So at this point let me do this. I'll turn it over to our partnering cooperating agencies. We've been working here as a one-team effort to ensure that the state is completely coordinated and all of the key resources are being met. So with that I'm going to start off with the director of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, Cal Fire Chief Ken Pemlott. Thank you Mark and good morning. So since this fire siege began weeks ago in July we've been tracking 16 major fires in the state. Since this began over 320,000 acres have burned in the siege. Currently we have over 32,000 residents that remain evacuated on various fires within the state. As director Geller Ducci indicated we have 13,000 firefighters on the fire lines just in California. Now this fire challenge is not just limited to California. The entire western United States including south into Texas is experiencing significant fire conditions and there are over 27,000 firefighters on the fire lines throughout the western United States. So almost half of those are right here in California. We are as was indicated engaging in support from 17 other states from as far away as Maine and Florida. We have all the aviation assets that are available in the system are not only deployed throughout California but all of these other states and so we continue to coordinate every day actually every hour throughout the day. It's a very dynamic process moving aircraft and resources from fire to fire and sharing those critical resources not only within California but with our partners in other states who are also experiencing some very difficult, difficult conditions. We will continue to look what our needs are. Our goal here in particular is to ensure we're planning for the the days ahead, not what's happening today, but what's going to be happening in the days to come to ensure we have resources on the road so that we can meet the threat that's coming down the road. We're only at the beginning of August. We've been seeing extreme fire conditions early in the year. These kinds of conditions, you know, in past decades, we may have seen a fire like we're seeing now in August or September. We are routinely now seeing fires reach 100,000 acres several times in one month and it's in July. So we have a long way to go in this fire season. And as we saw last year, fire season can go right up through December in into the early parts of the winter. So we're prepared in this for the long haul. Cal fire is bringing on additional seasonal firefighters. We're in the process of bringing them back as we speak. They will not only provide additional capacity on our fire engines, but will provide some opportunity to provide relief so that we can consist. Excuse me, sustain this rhythm throughout the remainder of the fire season. We also look for initial attack. Our goal is to keep fires small and in coordination with not only Cal fire, but all of our local government fire departments throughout California, our federal partners, the Forest Service, National Park Service, all the firefighting agencies we are in a seamless movement and coordination of resources to ensure that folks get to where they need to get and keep these fires small. So with that, I'd like to turn it over to the California Highway Patrol Commissioner Warren Stanley. Thank you, Chief. And good morning. As far as the CHP's role in these fires, we're in three phases. We are assisting with traffic control evacuations and also patrol of areas that have been evacuated in order to keep looters out. Earlier in the fire, we had almost 200 personnel assigned statewide to the various fires, particularly at the car fire. Earlier this week, we had 138 personnel assigned to that fire. We've been able to draw that number down because some of the actions that have been taken in the fire and so we drawn them down. Now we have 58 personnel assigned to that fire specifically to the car fire. I just want to mention and we've made sure this information out there. Interstate five through the redding area is open. Although if you have to travel there, we ask that you travel through there, be even more cautious because we have law enforcement personnel and more importantly, our fire department personnel moving in and out of there with equipment to help mitigate this fire. And to the members of the public who have been impacted by this fire, we very much appreciate your support. We know it's been very difficult for you. There have been a number of people who have lost homes or had to be evacuated and we're very mindful of that. And as the director and chief Pymod said, we're doing everything that we can to mitigate these fires in order to get the people back back into their communities. And with that, I'll turn it over to my counterpart from the National Guard, Major Baldwin. Thanks, Commissioner. I'm Major General Dave Baldwin at the California National Guard. As director Gil Ducci mentioned, we have over 1200 personnel from the California National Guard assisted by soldiers and airmen from both the Nevada National Guard and the New Mexico National Guard, providing a broad range of military support to civil authorities to help deal with these fires. We're fighting the fires on the ground and in the air. We're providing manned and unmanned surveillance systems to assist Cal Fire with fire mapping and to assist OES and FEMA with damaged assessments. We are also providing support to law enforcement in the forms of military police and Air National Guard security police officers that are providing looting deterrents. They're also assisting with repopulation efforts and I'll be followed by our commander in chief, Governor Brown. You've heard there's a tremendous effort fighting these fires and I want to personally thank all the firefighters who are on the line. The members of Cal Fire, also the National Guard and the thousands of inmates who are also online fighting to protect lives and bring these fires to a quick close to the extent that's at all possible. It is very serious. We've seen the lives that have been lost and I expressed my sympathy for that, but assure people that whatever resources are needed, we're putting them there. We did allocate money in the budget for these kinds of contingencies and that money is there to do exactly what it's doing. So yes, this is serious. Fires are now a more part of our ordinary experience. The predictions that things would get drier and hotter are occurring and that will continue. We're in quite a cycle, but the predictions that I see that the more serious predictions of warming and fires to occur later in the century, 2040 or 2050, they're now occurring in real time, and you can expect, unfortunately, that to keep intensifying in California and throughout the Southwest. We're part of that process of the Mediterranean climate that is being impacted by the changing weather. So we'll be glad to take whatever questions on this and anything else. Governor Brown. Yeah. Fire season is longer than ever. It's hotter out there. What do you see in the next couple of months? Is this the first of a big fire? Are we going to see more big fires? Well, you know, I don't have a crystal ball here, but I would would not be surprised if there were more fires. Obviously, they give me more fires. It's drier and you get the soil is drying, the vegetation is drying. That makes for perfect kindling. And then these wind events, wind storms, even tornado type behavior are occurring. Some of this is unprecedented and we're learning as we go. But we're in a new normal. We're in a drought that will continue. Now, whether you technically call it a drought, that's a matter for the weather people. But I would suspect there'll be more fires to come and more fires each year for a very long time because it's going to be a while before we shift the weather back to where historically was. Well, we have a forest management task force to do plan, you know, plan burnings to thin out the forest. There's also, you know, there are a number of things in both in warning and having enough trained personnel being ready. So there's lots of practice. People are doing everything they can. But nature is very powerful and we're not on the side of nature. We're fighting nature with the amount of material we're putting in the environment. And that material traps heat and the heat fosters fires and the fires keep burning. So that's where we are and we will have to mitigate and the forest task force is moving in that direction. But I think from in the years to come, you're going to see a lot more expenditure on prevention and adaptation and helping people avoid these kind of fires or escape from them. Well, there's money in this year's budget. We're enjoying the ninth year of recovery. So this is the period when money accumulates to its highest degree. Probably within a year or maybe slightly longer, that money will begin to diminish and not materialize because of the business cycle that will have the downturn. So we've got the money now. But I would say things will get much tighter in the next five years as the business cycle turns negative and as the fires continue. Now, maybe the fires will pause for a year or two, but over a decade or so, we're going to have more fire, more destructive fire, more billions that'll have to be spent on it, more adaptation, more prevention. So all that is the new normal that we have to face. So far, this fire activity is a small part of our very large budget, but it is a growing part and it will continue to grow as we adapt to the changing weather. In recent years, we've seen the actual towns and whole communities, and a lot of those folks are left trying to go back to loomscape. What's being done to allocate money to those people so they can get back on their face? Well, there's the federal emergency relief. There are various low interest loans, and there are various programs that are made available. This is going to become an increasing problem. California historically was not designed for 40 million people. It was designed for a few hundred thousand, and I know that because that was the number for eons, at least 12,000 years, maybe longer. No one ever thought to try to have 40 million people. That was just yesterday that we got that idea, and even 20 million is rather recent. So we're in a bold, unprecedented experiment with 40 million people and 32 million vehicles that burn flammable oil and gas. So we're going to have to adapt. We're going to change our technology. But in the meantime, we're going to spend a hell of a lot of money, and there is going to be a lot of unpleasant events and suffering as a result. For the past several years, what has been budgeted, the costs of these wildfires have exceeded what has been budgeted for the past several years. What more needs to be done to close that gap? Well, we have the money there. We have a rainy day fund. We're not down to our last dollar at this point, and we won't be for a long time. Even when things get tough, there's always available borrowings that can be made available. But we're being surprised. Every year is teaching the fire authorities new lessons. We're in uncharted territory. Since civilization emerged 10,000 years ago, we haven't had this kind of heat condition, and it's going to continue getting worse. That's the way it is. And some people don't want to accept that. And some people just outright deny it. But I don't say it with any great joy here. We're in for a really rough ride, and it's going to get expensive. It's going to get dangerous. And we have to apply all our creativity to making the best out of what is going to be an increasingly bad situation, and not just for California, but for people all over America and all over the world. When the legislature comes back next week, one of the things that's been talked about is wildfire prevention, wildfire liability. Could you sketch what your goal of them talking about that is? I know you've put out proposed language, but overarching, what do you want them to do on the topic? I want them to consider the proposal and take commentary from informed citizens. We have a whole change here, and the rules that are being followed were announced in one or two appellate opinions, but they don't represent the thoughtful and considered judgment of the California legislature. So that's why I've asked them to do. What is the proper rule of liability? How are we going to allocate these costs? If you say it all is the utility forever, there won't be utilities, there will just be public agencies, and it will all go through the tax system. So there's a lot of issues. People are on different sides, but my goal was to try to find a reasonable balance that would reward players, including utilities for doing the right thing, but make them liable when they didn't take the steps that common sense and prudence would warrant. Do you believe PG&E when they say they're near bankruptcy, if they have to pay out what they already are? That I can't tell. I've heard that from PG&E and I've heard trial lawyers and insurance companies who stand to benefit say the opposite. So these these are part of the legislative debate. But there is concern that we could lose our utilities. And if we do that, our whole program and trying to deal with renewable energy and mitigate climate change could be adversely affected. So these are all the issues that the legislature has to consider. And this is not, well, it is political, but it's more environmental and economic and finding the best way forward. And that's why I think the legislature should deal with it rather than a three judge appellate panel who writes a decision based on common law principles from 100 years ago. That, you know, they say that we're notifying people more and more through the 911 reverse operations who are going door to door. I think the people in Reading and the surrounding area worked very hard to get people out of the fire. But you know, we're not in a perfect world. The world has its has its complexity and its uncertainty. And we're living with an uncertainty and trying to do the best we can. And I think the people in the front lines are very amazing. The fact they were the firefighters were all that protective gear and they work in the heat. It's just amazing that they're what they do. So I'm very appreciative to that. And we'll continue to refine we meaning local and state and federal person, the safety personnel will continue improving as best they can. But no one expected a fire tornado. According to Mr. Fire Chief here, no one ever knew about that. So we're getting new phenomenon. And that new phenomenon is we're in a new climate weather era. And so we have to learn. And yes, if we knew everything we're going to know in five years, we'd maybe have a different warning system. But we're learning as we go. Oh, yes, for sure. They've taken into account. It is being taken into account. Mother nature is taken into account. So carbines will record that fact with particularity. As far as the proposal, we we drafted it in a way that had there's possibilities for improvement. That's the legislative process. We put the ball in play. And now we expect thoughtful people to reflect on this. This is serious business. And how do you want to handle this? There's a lot of people who can tee off from their particular interest. But we want the legislature to represent all the people and sift through the various claims and we'll be part of that will help and give them the best thinking we can. Good morning. Kim Cigar, state prime rescue chief of government services. We would like to have more resources out on the ground. We're getting resources from local government. During the heat wave, they've also had a swing in EMS calls. So we haven't got as much as we'd like. I would tell you that we've gone out of state for additional resources. They've been coming into the state where they've been very timely in that side of the house. But I think the governor's clearly stated that in the new situation that we're dealing with, we could use more resources. And I think the one thing I would share with you is that at the local, state and federal level, we've been very good at moving resources from one incident to another just in the nick of time. And so I think the cooperation and coordination that's taking place is unprecedented than in the previous years and probably unprecedented than anywhere else in the nation or maybe the world. There's still some capacity. Local government is also holding back some of those resources for their own calls. And because they're also worried about additional fires in our own area. I couldn't give you an exact number. We'd have to get back to you. But there's probably a couple thousand just between federal and out of state state agencies and local government that have come into the state. Your governor in the 1970s, governor now, understand climate change. We understand that. But in terms of fire, wildfires and their impact on towns and communities, what is the biggest change you've seen between the time you were governor in the 70s and now? The biggest change is the fire season lasts so much longer. And the fires are so much bigger. That's it in a nutshell. Senate bill one, you're talking about the yet the road building program and transit investment. Well, there will be more deteriorated roads. There'll be more unsafe bridges. And then people will react and then they'll maybe impose toll roads and they'll do something. There are things will get worse. But then after a certain period of time, then they'll probably have to get better. Well, look, there's no doubt that we didn't repair our roads on a proper schedule. Anybody that could have would have repaired roads on a more regular basis. The work that was needed was well over $50 billion. So that's real. And that has to be done. And if people say, well, we don't need the money that we now have, they'd have to get the money from somewhere else. And the big items are the University of California, the prison system, the health system, and other and including firefighting. So there always be people believe there's plenty of room for cutting out certain activities or doing them differently. But everybody has a different idea of what that might be. And so this, the current funding, the $5 billion investment every year is absolutely vital for road safety, bridge safety, and for having the kind of transit system that relieves even the congestion that we have. So if we go back and reduce local transit, local buses, local trains, and then we make our have our roads deteriorate further. Yeah, life will be more difficult. The quality of life will not improve. And therefore, I think people want to look right through to see the investment that we have also given the fact that a recession is coming. We want to have that investment so we can be providing this work, which we absolutely need at a time when hundreds of 1000 people will be losing losing their job. A quick fire question. Who have you personally spoken to in the Trump administration, cabinet secretaries, White House? Yeah, the the Homeland Security person, Secretary Nielsen. Yeah, she's talked. I've talked with her last week. How do you feel that conversation has been going? It's always very pleasant when I talk with her. She's a very congenial interlocutor. Do you believe the tariff and trade? And seems to me, I think she's very concerned. I mean, they are reaching out. You know, the tariff and trade. Yeah, it's gonna hasten the onset of recession. Well, first, we have the the the borrowing from the children to pay for the corporate tax breaks today. That is a stimulus when you throw a trillion dollars of money into the into people's hands, one way or the other, rich or poor, corporate or non corporate, they're spending money, because it's like everybody was told, go borrow in your credit card for the next couple of months, that would create economic activity. At some point, the tariffs and the natural cycle will kick in. And I know people always think, would we have a recession? I just have to tell you, when I took economics at St. Nations High School, in 1954, the good priest, Father Perkins, or rather his father, Clark, went to the Blackboard, and he drew a line up, and he drew a line down, they drew up and down. He said that zigzag is the business cycle. Now, economists are working very hard to smooth it out. That was 1955. That zigzag up and down is still with us. It's going to happen. And I would say no more than two years, if we're lucky. And then away it goes, the only question is how big, how deep, and with all this uncertainty about trade, and all the other uncertainties that we're getting out of Washington, yeah, there could be, there could be financial consequences and dislocations. So it's a, it's a crapshoot right now, is the way I would say the big economy. Yeah. Should everyone be ready? Everyone should be ready and everybody should have a plan. Well, that I asked Mr. Pimolette just half an hour ago, did anybody anticipate this fire tornado? And his answer was no. So we're still learning. And you just depends on how close you should want to be. I'm personally building a home that's just about complete. Not that far from the fire zone. So I asked myself, is this thing going to burn down? And it's certainly a very high possibility. So yeah, I'm going to be on the alert and everybody else better be on alert. And if you're building in these areas, many will burn down at some point. Well, we have a lot of good firefighters, we have people from adjoining states, we have the National Guard, we have 3,000 inmates doing their best. So, but you have to each one has to be very careful. That mean nature is not just some toy for the capitalist system. It's a real underlying reality that we have to understand and respond to rather than think that because we're a very rich part of the world that we get whatever we want. No, we don't get what we want. And there's a lot of uncertainty. And we have to get used to that. And yeah, I'm not any plans this morning, but we're definitely have considered it. And this is our first step. I don't like to go to places where they're in the middle of firefighting, just to look at people. I find that it's not always the most inspiring way to go.