September 15, 2026 – Governor Newsom signed a package of legislation to strengthen California’s long-term wildfire recovery system, building on the state’s work with survivors of the Eaton and Palisades fires, and producing tools for wildfire survivors across the state. The new laws create first-in-the-nation standards for testing and remediating hazardous wildfire smoke contamination for future fires and require insurers to cover qualifying smoke-damage testing, remediation, and restoration. The bills also permanently extend mortgage forbearance protections for disaster-affected homeowners.

First-in-the-nation science-backed standards for smoke damage claims:
Assembly Bills 1642 (Harabedian) and 1795 (Gipson) direct the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) and the California Air Resources Board to develop the state’s first protections for testing, remediation, and restoration of lead and asbestos contamination from wildfire smoke, for homes within a fire’s zip codes. It also requires DTSC to issue guidance to help schools recover after a wildfire. The legislation also requires insurers to pay for lead and asbestos testing and remediation in smoke-damaged homes within a wildfire zone, cover full cleanup and restoration to pre-loss condition, and bars insurers from cutting off Additional Living Expense coverage until a home is actually remediated and safe to occupy.

More time and flexibility on mortgages:
Assembly Bills 1842 and 1847 (Harabedian) create automatic protections and processes in law following a disaster to provide borrowers a path away from foreclosure. This landmark legislation also doubles the mortgage forbearance window available by law for LA fire survivors, from 12 months to 24 months, and requires servicers to offer borrowers the option to defer repayment of missed payments until the end of the loan, unless prohibited by investor contract terms or servicing guidelines.

September 15, 2026 – American Forests announced the launch of the Forest Innovation Platform, a free, open-source tool that turns more than 40 forest and climate datasets into customizable assessments for private, state, Tribal, federal and nonprofit land managers. The platform allows users to assess current and projected climate, wildfire, hydrological and ecological risks for specific areas without specialized expertise or months of manual analysis, helping inform forest management plans and adaptation strategies. The tool builds on research developed by the U.S. Forest Service and was developed with input from hundreds of scientists, federal agency partners, nonprofits and practitioners.

September 10, 2026 – California has now fast-tracked more than 500 priority wildfire prevention projects, including over 310,000 activity acres of treatments across nearly 130,000 footprint acres. This follows Governor Newsom’s emergency proclamation on wildfire-prone forests and subsequent actions to accelerate wildfire resilience work. State agencies, including the California Natural Resources Agency and the California Environmental Protection Agency, have coordinated to streamline permitting and cut red tape for high-priority wildfire-safety projects while maintaining essential environmental protections. Through this fast-track process, projects are now being approved in as little as 30 days, saving a year or more of review time for more complex projects.

This has helped move critical fuel reduction, forest restoration, and community protection projects from planning to implementation faster, saving a year or more of review and red tape for more complicated projects. Partners across the state have been able to complete work more efficiently while maintaining strong environmental protections. Notable projects include:

• Protecting Communities Impacted by the 2025 Los Angeles Firestorms: 600+ acre fuels reduction collaborative project protecting communities in the Los Angeles area near the Palisades footprint, led by the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority
  
• Expanding Prescribed and Cultural Burning on the North Coast: 450-acre Prosper Ridge Community Wildfire Resilience Project that is incorporating cultural burning and prescribed fire for community protection in Humboldt County
  
• Restoring Large Landscapes and Protecting Rural Northern California Communities: Nearly 3,000-acre Scott Valley/Callahan Fuels Reduction Project to restore ecosystem health and protect vulnerable rural communities in Siskiyou County
  
• Assisting Senior and Disabled Residents Protect their Homes in the Sierra Nevada: 302-acre project to assist senior and disabled WUI residents in Tuolumne County with removing vegetation and creating defensible space
  
• Restoring Wildfire Impacted Private Lands on the Central Coast: 520-acre Calforests supported disaster recovery project of private lands in Santa Cruz County impacted by the 2020 CZU Lightning Complex Fires
  
• Reducing Wildfire Risk through Prescribed Grazing in Southern California: 240-acre project in San Diego County to protect the Sycuan Reservation from wildfire by reducing fire hazard with the use of 300 grazing goats
  
• Protecting the Heritage Ranch Community in San Luis Obispo County: 485-acre project to construct an 8-mile strategic fuel break, improve roadside clearance and create defensible space to protect the 3,800-resident Heritage Ranch community, a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone with a history of large wildfires
  
• Reducing Wildfire Risk Near Arnold in Calaveras County: 2,171-acre strategic fuel break to protect the community of Arnold, using mechanical mastication, manual hand cutting, and piling and chipping to reduce fuel loads and prepare the landscape for prescribed fire

August 19, 2026 – The Indigenous Stewardship Network (ISN) held their first in-person convening at the CNRA building this with over 100 people in attendance. The convening focused on Indigenous stewardship and cultural fire across California. While ISN has held virtual convenings prior to 2026, this year the CNRA building in Sacramento was chosen to connect the Indigenous Stewardship network to spaces where environmental funding and policy decisions are discussed and made. Convening topics covered SB310 agreements, funding opportunities with the Department of Conservation Regional Forest and Fire Capacity Program (DOC RFFC), the CNRA Tribal Stewardship Toolkit, intergenerational learning and workforce development for cultural fire. The convening received support from the DOC RFFC program, the Resource Legacy Fund, and the Karuk Tribe.

July 24, 2026 – the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Applegate Field Office approved two forest resilience projects in the Fall River Valley in Shasta County, aimed at improving forest health, reducing wildfire risk, and strengthening community preparedness. Work on both projects is expected to begin in fall 2026. The Day Fire Pre-Commercial Thinning Project builds on recovery efforts following the 2014 Day Fire, which burned more than 13,000 acres of primarily private timberland and a portion of BLM-managed public land. The Cassel–Fall River Road Woodland Health and Hazardous Fuels Reduction Project expands upon fuels reduction work conducted from 2020 – 2026 and will continue removing hazardous vegetation on roughly 1,400 acres of BLM-managed public land near Fall River Mills, using hand crews, mechanical equipment, and prescribed fire.

Program Capacity and Project Development Grants: The Forest Legacy Program Capacity and Project Development Grant Solicitation is available for eligible applicants to prepare and develop potential working forest conservation easement or fee title acquisition projects. This solicitation aims to increase organizational capacity and support the development of high-quality forest conservation projects. This grant solicitation does not fund acquisitions; instead, it supports the preparation and development of potential projects for future acquisition. Applications are due September 30, 2026.

Community Forest and Open Space Conservation Program: CAL FIRE’s Forest Legacy Program is accepting applications for the USDA Forest Service’s Community Forest and Open Space Conservation Program, which provides up to $600,000 for communities, Tribes and eligible nonprofits to acquire and conserve forests that provide public access, recreation, wildlife habitat, water supply and other community benefits. Applications are due October 13, 2026.

August 6, 2026 – The Watershed Research and Training Center recently added 2025 data to its Community-Based Beneficial Fire Data Project which compiles and analyzes data from beneficial fire burning activities across the state of California. The project is demonstrating how California is strengthening its partnerships and expanding workforce development capacity for cultural and prescribed fire. 2025 was an active year for the community-based beneficial fire movement. Across California, Tribal cultural fire practitioners, Prescribed Burn Associations (PBAs), nonprofit organizations, Resource Conservation Districts, agencies, and private landowners are continuing to build the relationships, skills, and policies needed to return good fire to the landscape. In 2024 and 2025, nearly 9,500 people participated in training events focused on prescribed fire, cultural burning, ecological restoration, and land stewardship. During the same period, community partners completed more than 1,280 prescribed and cultural burns, treating over 9,100 acres while engaging nearly 16,000 participants.

August 19, 2026 – The California Board of Forestry and Fire Protection approved the final draft of Zone 0 defensible space regulations, marking another critical step in the state’s ongoing effort to better protect homes and communities from wildfire. The new regulation adds to California’s growing list of wildfire resilience efforts and focuses on practical wildfire safety actions for the first five feet around homes and structures—an area where professional experience and research indicate that homes are most vulnerable to ignition from embers.

The new regulation was informed by extensive public input and reflects a practical approach that empowers homeowners and local governments to take action. The approved policy includes a phased-in implementation approach that prioritizes education and outreach over a 5-year period. While Zone 0 requirements will apply to new construction upon adoption of the regulation, existing homes and structures can implement actions in phases over time within different areas of Zone 0:

• PHASE 1 (Implemented within the first 3 years): Includes removing combustible items such as firewood, dead leaves and branches, mulch, and wood chips within 5 feet of the structure. Cleaning gutters, removing dead and dying plants, trimming trees according to regulations, and implementing or adjusting for allowable vegetation during this time period.
• PHASE 2 (Implemented within 5 years): Local jurisdictions will assign a timeline, within 5 years of the effective date of the regulations, for the creation of an under-eave safety zone, replacing combustible gates, and making any necessary adjustments to sheds and fencing.

The policy applies to homes only in the State Responsibility Area (SRA) and Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones in Local Responsibility Areas (LRA). The goal is to give homeowners time, resources, and guidance to make changes effectively and affordably.