The Governor’s Office has announced that nearly all of Cal-Fire’s priority fuelbreaks started last spring have been completed. 35 such projects were listed throughout California, covering a total of 90,000 acres. In direct response to the Camp and Carr Fires, Governor Newsom signed an order allowing fire officials to bypass environmental and other regulations to clear dead trees and vegetation more quickly. At the very top of the prioritized list was the “Highway 44 Fuelbreak”, with 1100 acres cleared along both sides of Highway 44 from Dersch Road to the Lassen National Forest boundary. In the stretches where Cal-Trans had right-of-way, clearing was done to 200 feet each side from the centerline of the highway. The width varies depending on the willingness of private landowners to cooperate. The “West Redding Fuels Reduction” treated 3100 acres in the Keswick and Old Shasta areas, mostly involving clearing dead material from the Carr Fire area, with priority given to Swasey Drive and Lower Springs Road. The “China Gulch Fuels Reduction” cut a 530 acre fuel break along the ridge that runs south of Clear Creek from Highway 273 to the Shasta County Landfill near Igo. Cal-Fire, the National Guard and the CC worked together to complete the emergency projects in just 10 months. The only project not yet complete is in the Santa Clara area. The proposed state budget includes well over $2 Billion dedicated to wildfire prevention.