14 DAY TRIAL // California Governor Jerry Brown announced on Friday, January 17, that the state is now in a state of emergency, following an extensive drought that threatens agriculture and water supplies throughout the region. Brown said that 2014 could be the driest year in recorded state history.
He told the media that authorities in California needed to prepare themselves and make plans for prolonged water shortages. This risk was highlighted by climatologists years ago, but until now there has been no political will to keep policy in touch with scientific findings.
Brown said that, for example, emergency personnel and first responders need to be better prepared for more numerous wildfires, such as the Colby Fire currently raging near Los Angeles. Agricultural losses may also number in the billions of dollars, so the state's economy needs to be prepared for that as well.
State agencies throughout California have been instructed to conserve water, and several have received orders to hire more firefighters in order to deal effectively with any potential fires, both in rural and urban areas. The general population has also been urged to cut back on its water usage by 20 percent.
The lack of firefighters is made obvious by the Colby Fire in the Angeles National Forest, where more than 1,100 emergency responders are battling the flames. An area covering 1,800 acres has already been charred, and putting the fire out is proving difficult due to the steep terrain.
“We can't make it rain, but we can be much better prepared for the terrible consequences that California's drought now threatens, including dramatically less water for our farms and communities and increased fires in both urban and rural areas,” Brown said in a statement.
“I've declared this emergency and I'm calling all Californians to conserve water in every way possible,” he added, quoted by NPR.
The total extent of the snowpack on California's mountain peaks is only a fifth of its normal values, meaning that rivers will not get the necessary water supplies in the spring. Additionally, aquifers and underground reservoirs will not be completely replenished this year.
Statistics made available to the Governor indicate that all rivers and water reservoirs on the state currently display values much lower than the record minimums registered throughout history.
Scientists have been urging Brown to declare a state of emergency for weeks, but the Governor has resisted the idea as much as possible. He said that the state now has to find new ways of changing its behavior with regards to its water usage patterns.