[civilitty]

It's a bit more complicated than that: the California Air Resources Board sets statewide rules but the permitting for prescribed burns and the final responsibility for air quality lies with the 35 air districts. They already have the power to ignore many air quality regulations when granting permits but their politics are all over the place and there's tons of locally driven NIMBYism that's more influential than it would be at the state level. In some districts prescribed burns are a lot easier than in others.

CARB has been researching the issue of prescribed burns for decades and ever since the mid to late 2010s is completely on board, but the air districts are slower to follow. On top of that, the difference in land management priorities between the National Forest Service, BLM, and the State of California complicates everything. One of the best arguments for the Federal government divesting of its land in the west is to allow the states to better manage their own resources (states' rights comes full circle).

[mistrial9]

after the 2018 season, Gov Newsom did oversee a series of comprehensive settlements between major parties regarding cost, authority and procedures. Secondly the long-standing CalFIRE lead was terminated.