Residents In California Fire Country Choose Water Over Cash
GRASS VALLEY (CBS13) — Firefighters say water is proving to be as valuable as the homes and land being consumed by California's wildfires.
With 19 fires burning across the state and lake levels low during the fourth year of California's drought, crews are turning to private property owners to get the water they need.
Instead of accepting cash, Cal Fire says residents are increasingly choosing water instead.
Dale and Debbie Tocher have given 15,000 gallons of water from their tanks to firefighters battling the Lowell Fire. When they were offered cash to replace the water, they said it was a no-brainer to bank on a more valuable resource.
"I wanted the water and I didn't care. You can't put fires out with paper dollar bills, you know?" Debbie said.
The record-low water sources have Cal Fire leaning on private sources to battle fires.
"People would file claims with the state to get their water reimbursed financially," Cal Fire spokesman Daniel Berlant said. "Now we're seeing people who don't want the money, they'd rather have the water replaced."
Now the emptied tanks are bringing heightened anxiety to replenish the water, before it's too late.
"It's there for their use. That's why it's there," Debbie said. "But if they're using it for the forest and then the house catches on fire, and the water is not there, then that's a concern."
The Tochers say Cal Fire should be coming on Thursday to refill the tanks that were down to just 1,000 gallons on Wednesday.
Cal Fire has responded to 4,200 fires this year, or 1,500 more than what the agency typically sees by this time of the year.