California Continues Quick and Effective Action to Assist Los Angeles Fires Recovery

California Continues Quick and Effective Action to Assist Los Angeles Fires Recovery


Governor Newsom has launched historic recovery and rebuilding efforts to accelerate recovery and signed legislation providing over $2.5 billion to support ongoing response and jumpstart recovery efforts for Los Angeles. The Governor has signed 15 executive orders that together are:

 

Additionally State resources have come together to accelerate a safe recovery for Los Angeles:

  • The California Conservation Corps (CCC) responded quickly in recovery efforts by installing silt socks and straw wattles around storm drains in the burn zones to keep contaminants found in the ash from washing into the Los Angeles watershed. This was the largest deployment of Corpsmembers in CCC history targeting erosion and contaminant control.
  • The California Department of Water Resources deployed over 30 watershed experts and engineers to Los Angeles to support fire mitigation work in burn scar areas and protect downstream communities by keeping toxic runoff out of local watersheds.
  • The California Department of Conservation deployed its Watershed Emergency Response Teams to the front lines to quickly assess post fire hazards such as debris flows, flash floods, and falling rocks.
  • The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) is supporting intake of burned and impacted wildlife to rehabilitation centers, as well as relocating wildlife to help expedite recovery for both people and animals. CDFW also mobilized staff and volunteers to rescue a population of endangered Steelhead trout in Topanga Creek.
  • California State Parks is working with US EPA, Cal OES, and CalEPA to help the recovery effort by hosting two temporary sites to safely process hazardous household materials removed from properties destroyed by the Palisades Fire.

RESOURCES


Read the News


Senator Padilla Introduces Three Bipartisan Bills to Bolster Fire Resilience and Proactive Mitigation Efforts

Senator Padilla Introduces Three Bipartisan Bills to Bolster Fire Resilience and Proactive Mitigation Efforts


On February 3, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) introduced a package of three bipartisan bills to bolster fire resilience and proactive mitigation efforts. The package includes:

· Wildfire Emergency Act— Would reduce the threat of destructive wildfires through forest restoration, firefighter training, energy resilience retrofits, and wildfire-hardening home modifications in low-income communities. Specifically, the legislation would:

  • provide the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) with a pilot authority to leverage private financing to increase the pace and scale of forest restoration projects;
  • authorize funding for programs to expand the forest conservation and wildland firefighting workforce;
  • establish an energy resilience program at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to ensure that critical facilities remain active during wildfire disruptions, authorizing up to $100 million for necessary retrofits;
  • expand an existing DOE weatherization grant program to provide up to $13,000 to low-income households to make wildfire-hardening retrofits;
  • expedite the placement of wildfire detection equipment on the ground, such as sensors or cameras, as well as the use of space-based observation;
  • establish a prescribed fire-training center in the West and authorize grants to support training the next generation of foresters and firefighters; and
  • authorize up to $50 million to support community grants of up to $50,000 for locally focused land stewardship and conservation.

· Fire-Safe Electrical Corridors Act— Would allow the USFS to approve the removal of hazardous trees near power lines on federal lands without requiring a timber sale, thereby easing the removal of hazardous trees, and reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfire. This would allow the USFS to provide standing permission for electrical utilities to cut and remove hazardous trees near power lines within existing rights-of-way without requiring a timber sale. Utilities would be required to return any proceeds to the USFS.

· Disaster Mitigation and Tax Parity Act— Would further incentivize homeowners to proactively protect their homes from disasters by providing a tax exemption on payments from state-based programs. Specifically, the bill excludes qualified catastrophe mitigation payments made under a state-based catastrophe loss mitigation program from gross income calculations.


See Progress on Protecting People and Communities from Wildfire

From day 1, Governor Newsom declared California’s firefighters and wildfire resilience as a top priority of his administration. And California and partners continue to deliver nation-leading results. Since taking office, the Governor has committed more resources and investments than ever before to significantly boost wildfire response capabilities while tackling root causes of the wildfire crisis head-on.

 

Here are the top 5 things to know about California’s progress on protecting people and communities from wildfire:

Read More About California's Wildfire Resilience Progress

1. Historic Investments Making Big Impacts Statewide

Invested $2.5 billion: California has invested more than $2.5 billion in wildfire resilience since 2021 and the Governor is committing to invest an additional $1.5 billion from the 2024 voter-approved climate bond (known as Proposition 4).

Doubled CAL FIRE resources: To support more effective wildfire response, CAL FIRE nearly doubled its fire protection staff since 2019 from 5,829 to 10,741 positions, and nearly doubled its fire protection budget from $2 billion to $3.8 billion. 

Added 2,400 firefighters: The Governor’s proposed investments will add 2,400 new firefighters to CAL FIRE’s firefighting force over the next five years. 

Boosted Cal OES: Since 2019, the budget of the California Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES), a key agency in responding to and rebuilding after fires, increased from $1.8 billion to $3.1 billion, and its staffing grew from 1,139 to 1,879 positions.


2. On the Ground in California's Wildlands: Unprecedented Results in Record Time

Launched 2,200 projects: These historic investments continue to pay off. More than 2,200 landscape health and fire prevention projects are underway, and from 2021-2023, the state and its partners treated nearly 1.9 million acres, including nearly 730,000 acres in 2023.  

Nearly doubled prescribed fire: Prescribed fire treatments nearly doubled between 2021 and 2023. Federal, state, and local agencies completed 260,000 acres of prescribed fire treatments in 2023.

Created emergency teams: State and federal partners have established 15 Emergency Forest Restoration Teams (EFRTs) across the state to rapidly restore private forestlands after fires.

Awarded $500 million to forest health: Since 2021, CAL FIRE has committed more than $500 million in support of 150 wildfire and forest resilience projects through its Forest Health Grant Program

Built local capacity: The Department of Conservations’s Regional Forest and Fire Capacity (RFFC) program has awarded more than $140 million to communities across the state to create fire adapted communities and landscapes. 

Promoted tribal projects: CAL FIRE awarded $25.7 million in 2023 and 2024 for 18 projects to help California Native American tribes manage ancestral lands and promote wildfire resilience.


3. New Tools Increase Transparency and Show Progress in Action

Innovative tools for tracking progress: The Governor’s Task Force launched an Interagency Treatment Dashboard to display completed federal, state, local, and private vegetation management projects across the state. The Dashboard, launched in 2023, provides transparency, tracks progress, facilitates planning, and informs firefighting efforts.

Documenting effectiveness: See for yourself. CAL FIRE’s Fuels Treatment Effectiveness Dashboard spotlights and documents how recent wildfire resilience projects are protecting communities and landscapes when wildfire strikes. Examples of effective resilience projects include the Loafer Creek LLC Vegetation Management Project, where prescribed fires and forest health treatments slowed the 2024 Park Fire and the Starchman Fuel Break Project that reduced the rate of spread of the 2024 French Fire, enabling fire crews to extinguish it.


4. Protecting Neighborhoods and Empowering Communities to Join the Movement

Awarded $450 million for wildfire prevention: Since 2019, CAL FIRE has awarded more than $450 million for 450 wildfire prevention projects across the state, and conducts Defensible Space Inspections on more than 250,000 homes each year.

Protecting homes: CAL FIRE established a new California Wildfire Mitigation Assistance Program to coordinate regional and local efforts with state policies, strategies, and programs for community wildfire mitigation, including a home hardening initiative that will provide funding for defensible space and ignition resistant retrofits to approximately 2,400 homes. 

Providing smoke updates: CARB’s California Smoke Spotter mobile app and Prescribed Fire Information Reporting System provide real-time information on smoke impacts from wildfires and prescribed burns. 


5. Leading the Future of Fire: Expanding Capacity and Leveraging Technology to Tackle Wildfire

In addition to ramping up state work to increase landscape and community resilience, the Governor has substantially increased funding and staffing levels at CAL FIRE and Cal OES to improve the state’s ability to track, fight, and recover from fires.  

Increased firefighting capacity: CAL FIRE has enhanced its firefighting capabilities with 16 state of the art helicopters (FireHawks) and 7 C-130 tankers. And since 2019, CAL FIRE has added 55 type III engines, for a total of 398. Cal OES has added 106 engines to its fleet, for a total of 261.

• Utilizing AI to detect fires: CAL FIRE partnered with UC San Diego to support the development of ALERTCalifornia which utilizes AI to identify and monitor wildfires. ALERTCalifornia was named one of TIME’s Best Inventions of 2023.

Integrated fire forecasting: In 2021, Cal OES and CAL FIRE established the Wildfire Forecast and Threat Intelligence Integration Center, in collaboration with the California Military Department and California Public Utilities Commission, to serve as the state’s central organizing hub for wildfire forecasting and coordination of wildfire threat intelligence and data sharing.

Leveraging technology for fire response: CAL FIRE and Cal OES have also invested heavily in drones, satellite technology for advanced mapping, and AI-powered tools to spot fires quicker, and a Fire Integrated Real-Time Intelligence System (FIRIS) to provide real-time mapping of wildfires.


Read More About California's Wildfire Resilience Progress


USDA California Climate Hub Provides Forestry Resource Repository for Land Managers

New Website Provides Forestry Resource Repository for Land Managers


The USDA California Climate Hub released a new webpage that compiles datasets and decision-support tools to help land managers and natural resource professionals with assessing the conditions of a landscape for project planning. The list is not exhaustive of all resources but focuses on data and tools available to the public, with an emphasis on resources available within the state of California. The repository also contains a series of factsheets, produced by the USDA California Climate Hub, that offer a succinct overview of the California Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force’s Regional Resource Kits and its constituent products.


Survey Open to Collect Input from Landowners on Prescribed Burning

Survey Open to Collect Input from Landowners on Prescribed Burning


In collaboration with the University of California Cooperative Extension, Pennsylvania State University is conducting a survey to better understand private landowner perspectives and potential intentions to use planned burning in California. The objectives of this project are to:
•Evaluate private forest landowners’ attitudes towards prescribed fire in California.
•Identify barriers and opportunities for prescribed fire adoption in the state.
•Develop tailored support strategies for California landowners.
•Assess the influence of policy and environmental factors on prescribed fire use in California.


U.S. Forest Service Thinning Projects Protect Southern California Communities

U.S. Forest Service Thinning Projects Protect Southern California Communities


November 13, 2024 – Two of this year’s larger fires in Southern California, the Line Fire and the Bridge Fire, demonstrated how fuels treatments protect communities and natural landscapes. The Line Fire was fueled by high winds and steep terrain and quickly spread toward the community of Angelus Oaks. Luckily for firefighters defending Angelus Oaks, previous wildfire mitigation work in San Bernardino National Forest, including prescribed fire and mechanical thinning, enabled firefighters to suppress the wildfire before it was able to burn through Angelus Oaks.

A few days later, the Bridge Fire was heading toward the community of Wrightwood but first hit Forest Service fuel breaks, where trees had been thinned out five years prior. When the fire reached the fuel breaks, fire behavior altered, slowed, and allowed firefighters to contain the blazes before the fire could reach the 5,000 residents of Wrightwood. These success stories on the importance of preventive treatments build on effectiveness reporting by CAL FIRE and other Task Force partners that are doing the proactive work to protect landscapes and communities before wildfire strikes.

 


California Public Seed Banks Complete Historic Cone Collection Year

California Public Seed Banks Complete Historic Cone Collection Year


December 5, 2024 – California’s two public seed banks collected a total of 11,330 bushels of conifer seed-bearing cones in 2024. The U.S. Forest Service Placerville Nursery collected 6,700 bushels and CAL FIRE’s L.A. Moran Reforestation Center collected 4,630 bushels. 30% of the bushels collected in 2024 were supported by the California Reforestation Pipeline Partnership which helped increase cone collection in public seed banks in 2024 by 275% from the total collected in 2023. In addition to public seed banks, voluntarily reported private sector seed collection in California totaled 8,670 bushels which brings the statewide total to at least 20,000 bushels which could potentially reforest as much as 681,000 acres. 


State Coastal Conservancy Awards Nearly $6 Million For Wildfire Resilience Projects

State Coastal Conservancy Awards Nearly $6 Million For Wildfire Resilience Projects


November 21, 2024 – The Board of the State Coastal Conservancy approved grants totaling over $113 million for coastal restoration, protection, public access, and climate resilience. Nearly $6 million will support six projects that will directly address hazardous fuels and promote wildfire resilience along California’s coast. Funded projects include:  
  • $250,000 to support Civicorps’ East Bay Wildfire Risk Reduction project for workforce development and vegetation removal in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties.
  • $1,542,000 for the San Mateo County Critical Evacuation Corridors Wildfire Resilience Project to remove hazardous vegetation along two critical road evacuation corridors.
  • $500,000 to implement the Garland Ranch Wildfire Resilience Project to thin 12 acres of eucalyptus trees and create a 6.2 acre shaded fuel break, maintain previously treated areas, collect data, and conduct community engagement in Monterey County.
  • $1,626,000 to the U.S. Forest Service to treat approximately 24 miles of historic fuel breaks by removing vegetation along the Santa Lucia ridge line within the Los Padres National Forest to protect neighboring communities in Monterey County from catastrophic wildfire.
  • $947,850 for Santa Barbara’s Wildfire Resilience Project to reduce wildland vegetation fuels acres, restore native species, and conduct community engagement. 
  • $1,131,700 for the Ascot Hills Resilience Project in Los Angeles to enhance 33 acres of habitat through the removal of invasive plants and planting of native plants to increase wildfire resilience.


Federal Funds Reduce Wildfire Risk and Support Local Economies

Federal Funds Reduce Wildfire Risk and Support Local Economies


Federal Funds Support Wildfire Impacted Communities:
November 15, 2024 – Governor Newsom announced that five communities hit hardest by the devastating wildfires in 2018 will receive $40.7 million in new federal aid to support community development and help communities reach full economic recovery. This funding will reach communities that are still recovering from the economic and mental health impacts of wildfires and demonstrates the importance of continued support for disaster-impacted communities, even years after initial disaster relief has concluded. The funding comes from the federal 2018 Community Development Block Grant—Disaster Recovery Workforce Development program and will go to communities in the counties of Butte, Lake, Los Angeles, Shasta, and Ventura.

USFS Awards Over $7 Million to Reduce Wildfire Risk and Support Local Economies in California:
November 13, 2024 – The U.S. Forest Service awarded $20 million to transport hazardous fuels from forests to facilities for processing into wood products or energy sources. These awards fund 66 projects in 13 states, including nearly $7.3 million for 12 projects in California. Awarded projects will increase the pace and scale of wildfire resilience treatments and provide economic benefits to local communities and businesses. Projects will support critical wood products industries and underserved communities by providing jobs in rural areas that may be impacted by mill closures.


U.S. Forest Service Completes Record Setting Year for Prescribed Fire

U.S. Forest Service Completes Record Setting Year for Prescribed Fire


November 20, 2024 — The U.S. Forest Service successfully treated over 325,000 acres for forest health on national forests in California during the 2024 fiscal year. This includes over 72,000 acres of prescribed burning alone. The previous U.S. Forest Service record for prescribed fire was set in 2018 when 63,711 acres were treated. This marks significant progress toward the USFS target of deploying 150,000 acres of beneficial fire in California’s Strategic Plan for Expanding the Use of Beneficial Fire.