INLAND EMPIRE – (INT) – As uncontrolled flames take their toll, residents of the Inland Empire have named wildfires as the most important environmental issue facing the state. At 88 percent, that’s higher than any part of California.

Residents of neighboring Los Angeles County viewed it as their least likely threat at 72 percent.

Californians told the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) that the effects of climate change have already begun and that climate change is a threat to the economy and quality of life for California’s future. Most Californians say that it is more important to address climate mitigation than climate adaptation.

For the majority of Californians, wildfires feel like a direct threat, the PPIC survey taken in late June found.

Where will residents turn for help if the worst happens? Relatively few expect to rely on the government. Just one in three Californians (32%) say they have a great deal of confidence in the government’s readiness to respond to wildfires in their part of the state.

Story Date: August 7, 2024