Pelosi, Thompson, Huffman tout wildfire prevention funding in Santa Rosa’s Coffey Park neighborhood
Standing beneath thick fog in Santa Rosa’s Coffey Park neighborhood, local leaders joined House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Saturday morning to tout a surge of new funding for wildfire prevention and climate resilience.
President Joe Biden’s recently passed $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill includes what Sonoma County’s two congressmen, Mike Thompson and Jared Huffman, hailed Saturday as historic investments to prevent devastating wildfires like the 2017 Tubbs fire.
It razed 1,422 Coffey Park homes, more than a quarter of 5,334 lost countywide in the firestorm.
“We lost lives, we lost businesses, we lost livelihoods and we lost homes,” Thompson said.
Four years later, more than 95% of homes in Coffey Park have been rebuilt or are under construction, a swift turnaround that has become a model for fire-scarred communities across the state and nation.
Still, recovery is a long road, and local, state and federal leaders are looking to preventive measures in the face of worsening droughts, extreme weather events and longer fire seasons.
“This crisis demands urgent actions not just to fight wildfires but to prevent them,” said Pelosi, D-San Francisco, citing the climate crisis.
Of the funding coming to the state, $3.4 billion will be earmarked specifically for wildfires. That will include investments to cover increases in firefighter salaries, hazardous fuel mitigation work, expanded use of prescribed fires, help for communities crafting and implementing wildfire defense plans, and funding for rapid, real-time fire detection and monitoring equipment, among other efforts.
The $3.4 billion is part of a larger $7.5 billion package for California that will also address forest health and rehabilitation.
Before speaking, Pelosi took a brief tour of Coffey Park and spoke with local firefighters, whom she later referred to as “our nobility.”
“They protect us with their courage,” Pelosi said.
She was joined Saturday by Thompson, D-St. Helena, and Huffman, D-San Rafael, as well as Sonoma County Supervisors James Gore, Chris Coursey and David Rabbitt, Santa Rosa Mayor Chris Rogers, Rohnert Park Mayor Jackie Elward, Santa Rosa Councilman Tom Schwedhelm, Santa Rosa Fire Chief Scott Westrope and elected officials representing Napa and Lake counties.
The appearance comes as Democrats seek to promote the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act as a signature accomplishment of Biden’s first year in office, highlighting benefits that extend to road fixes, transit and broadband internet upgrades.
California as a whole is set to receive $45 billion just through baseline boosts to infrastructure funding. That includes more than $25 billion for highways, $4.2 billion for bridges, $9.4 billion for public transportation, $3.5 billion for clean water projects, $1.5 billion for airport infrastructure, $384 million for expanding electric vehicle charging stations and $100 million for broadband coverage.
But Democrats are also trying to sell the nation — and press some of their wavering lawmakers — into support for Biden’s Build Back Better bill, which passed in the House but has stalled in the Senate until the new year.
Pelosi, Huffman and Thompson said it would bolster a wider array of climate resilience and wildfire prevention programs.
Calling it the “largest ever federal investment to combat the climate crisis,” Pelosi said Build Back Better stands to add over half a trillion dollars to climate-related efforts, with $30 billion of that intended to combat forest fires.
“It’s going to be a huge addition to this infrastructure bill,” Huffman said.
Looking out at the Coffey Park residents gathered in the audience, Pelosi recalled seeing billboards in the wake of the 2017 North Bay firestorm as she and other lawmakers visited the area.
One read: “The love in the air is thicker than the smoke,” she recalled Saturday.
New homes and a grassy park, complete with a playground and dog park, have replaced the burnt, scarred lots left in Coffey Park by the fire.
“You suffered so much,” Pelosi said. “You came together beautifully.”
Other signs of long recovery are less visible, said Anne Barbour, a Coffey Park resident and vice president of the neighborhood group Coffey Strong.
Barbour, speaking from the podium, described adults dealing with anxiety, depression and broken relationships, and children coping with nightmares and anger.
“This is part of recovery people don’t see,” Barbour said.
Emergency to-go bags are now ready year-round, she said, and “a sense of security is lost.”
Steve Rahm, a Coffey Park resident and president of Coffey Strong, said the event was more emotional than he expected. Several attendees shared hugs with Pelosi or took selfies while thanking her for the visit.
The community is moving forward, step by step, Rahm said, and there is “a lot of hope and momentum.”
In August, Coffey Strong announced it would disband in October as its mission is nearly accomplished.
Coffey Park resident Jessie Cahill was helping her dad fill their car with holiday lights Saturday morning for the neighborhood’s upcoming parade when they noticed the crowd growing at the park, ahead of Pelosi’s arrival.
“We’re not used to so many fire trucks for good things,” Cahill said.
To discover the crowd was for Pelosi’s visit was a thrill. Cahill found it empowering to see her speak, particularly about taking on climate change. Then she managed to snag a selfie with Pelosi.
It was a full-circle moment of sorts for Cahill.
“Before the fire happened, I had a picture with Obama when I was 8 years old, but we lost that,” Cahill said. “And now I get a new photo with a new politician.”
You can reach Staff Writer Emma Murphy at 707-521-5228 or emma.murphy@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @MurphReports.
By: Emma Murphy
Source: Press Democrat
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