In testimony before the House Budget Committee Feb. 9, 2011, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke blew the whistle on these projections when he endorsed large spending reductions and fessed up that unless Congress cuts spending dramatically there is no way to grow our way out of a looming fiscal crisis of the welfare state.

FORBES: Are Republicans Going All Wobbly On Spending?

The escalating cost of the firefighting effort comes at a time when the state is tackling a huge fiscal crisis, with many public sector workers being laid off.

BBC: California faces up to year-round forest fires

Nor can it reverse the deteriorating state fiscal crisis caused by weak economies and exacerbated by insanely high pensions and out of control spending policies.

FORBES: New Geographer