KTVU
The new CalFire Director is touring the state with a warning : get ready. Thom Porter was appointed to the post by Governor Newsom, replacing the previous director who retired. Porter has a long forestry background, and has been with CalFire for twenty years, one of the first to sound the alarm about climate change and its affects, creating mega-fires.
"The only way we're going to turn the corner on this, is a concerted effort by everyone in California," said Porter, at a Thursday press event in Novato.
He was flanked by firefighters and local leaders from across Marin County, worried about the hot, dry weather months ahead.
"It is very possible we will see another fire burn through a community this year," Porter told KTVU, "because for the time being, we cannot stop these fires, they are going to continue to happen."