Independent Institute Senior Vice President Mary L. G. Theroux interviews Independent Senior Fellow Dr. Lawrence J. McQuillan for a discussion and Q&A on the causes and cures for the recurring but unnecessary California wildfires.

In 2017 and 2019, Independent's California Golden Fleece® Award was given to CAL FIRE (California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection), U.S. Forest Service and other government agencies involved in forestland mismanagement. The reports offered the essential solutions to prevent future disasters, yet here we are again in 2020 with the state burning, and people losing their homes and lives with entire regions endangered and smoke-ridden.

Lawrence J. McQuillan is a Senior Fellow and Director of the Center on Entrepreneurial Innovation at the Independent Institute. He received his Ph.D. in economics from George Mason University, and he has served as Chief Economist at the Illinois Policy Institute, Director of Business and Economic Studies at the Pacific Research Institute, Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution, and Founding Publisher and Contributing Editor of “Economic Issues.”

READ THE FULL REPORTS:

2019 California Golden Fleece® Award Briefing: “California Wildfires: Key Recommendations to Prevent Future Disasters,” by Lawrence J. McQuillan, Adam Summers, Hayeon Carol Park and Katherine Dwyer

2017 California Golden Fleece® Award Briefing: “California Burning,” by Lawrence J. McQuillan