A paddle boarder watches as two firefighting helicopters take on water from the Pacific Ocean off of San Clemente, Calif., in this May 16, 2014, photo.SAN DIEGO – All evacuation orders were lifted Sunday as firefighters gained the upper hand on the remaining four of nearly a dozen blazes that tore through Southern California last week – while the state’s governor warned he was gearing up for what could be the drought-stricken region’s worst wildfire season ever.
Gov. Jerry Brown told ABC’s “This Week” that the state has 5,000 firefighters and has appropriated $600 million to battling blazes, but that may not be enough in the future.
“We’re getting ready for the worst,” Brown said. “Now, we don’t want to anticipate before we know, but we need a full complement of firefighting capacity.”
The state firefighting agency went to peak staffing in the first week of April, instead of its usual start in mid-May.
Thousands of additional firefighters may be needed in the future, Brown said, adding that California is on the “front lines” of climate change that is making its weather hotter.