Of that, I'm not sure. It is insanity, but I suspect that it is a state issue. Cali is in the heart of the environazis and has (until now) had the left controlling all 3 branches of state government. Anything stupid can happen under those circumstances.
The one thing I do know is that there has been a concerted effort on the part of the far-left to remove all traces of human existence from many national forests. Part of believing in that policy is that many forests haven't had the care they deserve over the last several years. No clearing of underbrush, no thinning, no removal of dead wood, and no fire breaks.