CARB Regulation: Flexibility for Vehicles Needed for Emergencies

Wildfire Prevention

• CARB must provide exemptions for support vehicles critical to firefighting. It’s truly a matter of life and death. Wildfire prevention efforts depend on diesel-powered trucks capable of hauling 15,000-pound equipment into remote, mountainous terrain. No CARB-compliant vehicles offer the range or long-term reliability needed for this work, and it’s unlikely any will ever exist due to shrinking U.S. market demand.
• CARB’s requirement for electric/zero-emission vehicles in California’s remote areas creates operational and safety risks to front line workers. These areas are far from power infrastructure – meaning there’s no re-charging capacity. A disabled or power-depleted vehicle in these settings creates safety hazards for workers and delays emergency response at a time when seconds matter.
• There will never be adequate electrical infrastructure to support the work public agencies must do in California’s remote areas to protect communities and property from wildfires. Mandating that special districts and other local agencies transition to EV fleets by 2030 ignores this reality.
• Meeting California’s climate goals must be balanced with the realities of operations in remote or wilderness areas, and the need to protect California communities from catastrophic wildfires. That demands more than an irresponsible one-size-fits-all solution. CARB must allow for common-sense exemptions.
• Californians across the political spectrum agree that the devastation, carbon emissions, and loss of life associated with large-scale fires all outweigh concerns over the limited emissions produced by essential heavy equipment used in wildfire prevention.

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