• Inland Empire Fire Safe Alliance

• California Department of Insurance

• Desert Region Fire Safe

• UC Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR)

• BurnBot, Inc.

• Forestry Educators Incorporated / Forestry Challenge

• Ascent

• The Forestry & Fire Recruitment Program (FFRP)

• California Conservation Corps

• Foundation for California Community Colleges

• California Fire Safe Council

• Headwaters Resiliency Partnership

• TreePeople

• American Forests

• Southern California Wildfire Resilience Partnership

• Southern California Mountains Foundation

• CalTrans – Office of Natural Resource Managment

• USFS/NFF

• SWCA

• Dudek

• Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice

Following Governor Newsom’s Emergency Proclamation on wildfire, the California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) and the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) have approved nearly 100 critical fuels reduction projects spanning tens of thousands of acres across the state, moving at record pace while also ensuring environmental protections are being upheld.  

Recognizing that reducing wildfire risk to landscapes and communities may require multiple stages of treatments, California recently extended regulatory suspensions to allow qualifying longer-term fuels reduction projects up to five years from commencement to complete on-the-ground work. This includes projects that have been awarded funding from the following state grant programs:

• CAL FIRE Wildfire Prevention Grants
• CAL FIRE Forest Health Grants
• California Forest Improvement Program within the Coastal Zone (projects must have fuels reduction as a key objective)
• Climate Bond early action funding (Prop 4)
• Other programs funded through Wildfire Resilience Packages since 2020-2021 

Projects directly implemented by state agencies within CNRA (i.e., CAL FIRE, State Parks, CDFW, State Lands Commission and California Tahoe Conservancy) are also eligible for extensions of up to five years from the commencement of on-the-ground work. Projects that receive extensions are expected to submit all progress reports required under their grant agreements to the suspension review teams at CNRA and CalEPA.

For eligibility criteria, requirements for environmental protections, FAQs, support resources for project assistance, a map of approved projects, and the application link, visit the Task Force webpage. The deadline to submit suspension requests for projects is December 31, 2025.

August 1, 2025 – CAL FIRE awarded nearly $4.7 million through its Tribal Wildfire Resilience Program to support six tribes and tribal non-profits in implementing projects on tribal, federal, and private lands. These grants focus on cultural fire, workforce training, fuels reduction, reforestation, land stewardship, and other efforts that promote wildfire resilience and safety for tribal communities. The funding also supports the use and promotion of Traditional Ecological Knowledge to help California Native American tribes manage their ancestral lands.

August 18, 2025 – CAL FIRE announced $5 million in grant funding through its Business and Workforce Development Grant program to eight projects that will create jobs, train future forestry workers, and help small businesses expand their role in protecting California’s forests and communities from wildfire. Together, these eight projects will train more than 300 people, create or retain dozens of jobs, and increase the capacity to treat thousands of acres per year. 

July 7, 2025 – On the six month anniversary of the Eaton and Palisades fires, Governor Newsom announced the substantial completion of the public debris removal program from more than 10,000 fire damaged parcels. The near-completion of the public debris removal program comes months ahead of schedule. The LA Fires cleanup is the second largest in state history after the Camp Fire and was jointly managed by the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) and United States Army Corps of Engineers, in partnership with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), as well Los Angeles County and City of Los Angeles. Of the 12,048 total properties destroyed in the twin fires, 9,873 opted to participate in the cost-free public cleanup program. 

Following cleanup, the Governor signed Executive Order N-29-25 to accelerate rebuilding homes and schools impacted by the fires by suspending local permitting laws and building codes. To further spur rebuilding the Governor and the California Department of Housing and Community Development announced the release of $101 million to help rapidly rebuild critically needed, affordable multifamily rental housing in the fire-devastated LA region. 

July 15, 2025 – CAL FIRE’s Fire and Resource Assessment Program (FRAP) released the California Vegetation Burn Severity Online Viewer, a public geospatial tool that displays burn severity data for wildfires across all land ownerships that burned at least 1,000 acres in California from 2015 to 2023. In accordance with Senate Bill 1101, FRAP developed this viewer to enhance public understanding of post-fire conditions and ecological impacts. It offers insight into the severity of impacts to vegetation across both forested and non-forested landscapes. The viewer will support post-fire recovery planning, inform habitat management and conservation efforts, enhance safety through insights for fire suppression planning, and improve preparedness by helping prescribed fire practitioners plan treatments based on past burn severity and fuel changes. Users can view fire perimeters, severity maps, and proportional area statistics for each fire. The viewer will be updated annually to include new fires under 1,000 acres.

July 31, 2025 – With the support of Governor Newsom and the California State Legislature, the 2025-26 budget will provide $9.5 million for the Wildfire County Coordinator Program. Delivered in partnership between the California Fire Safe Council and CAL FIRE, the program establishes critical local capacity in 47 California counties with dedicated coordinators to secure funding, implement mitigation projects, engage vulnerable populations, and build resilience in high-risk communities. Coordinators serve as the crucial link between state strategy and local execution—ensuring California communities are better prepared, better connected, and more resilient to wildfire. The program will continue:

• Operationalizing California’s Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan at the county level;
• Accelerating home hardening, defensible space implementation, and public education;
• Standardizing data collection to track local and statewide wildfire resilience progress; and
• Improving public safety, community insurability, and wildfire preparedness in California’s highest-risk regions.

Impact of the Wildfire County Coordinator Program

Investments in community capacity through the program have already produced substantial mitigation and resiliency benefits:

• Secured over $85M in funding for local wildfire mitigation projects;
• Coordinated with over 10,000 organizations to increase collaboration, break down silos, and leverage resources for community mitigation;
• Hosted over 3,800 events for community engagement and education;
• Educated and empowered over 800,000 residents to take action for wildfire resilience; and
• Established more than 100 new FireWise Communities and Fire Safe Councils.
  

Testimonials from the Wildfire County Coordinators

“The Program has allowed Del Norte County Fire Safe Council to protect many underserved residents and coordinate with other wildfire mitigation groups to maximize impact. Our County Coordinator has brought nearly $4 million in federal funding to Del Norte County, created defensible space around 372 homes, and completed 1,500 home assessments.”
– Aaron Babcock, Del Norte County

“A small investment in capacity can lead to sustainable, long-term improvements for any organization. Because of the County Coordinator Grant, Plumas Fire Safe Council had the capacity to obtain a $6.8 million dollar grant dedicated to hazardous fuels reduction and assessment.”
– Liam Gallaher, Plumas County

“The County Coordinator Grant has supported collaboration in our county by allowing us to create a collaborative meeting of 14 fire prevention agencies in the county to better inform the public and improve our ability to leverage funds and labor.”
– Jon Cottington, Madera County

“We’ve been able to significantly expand our youth education impact by implementing three new school programs and getting back into the classroom with students for the first time since the 2018 Camp Fire.”
– Lauren de Terra, Butte County

“The program has given us the time and opportunity to strengthen our outreach countywide while implementing critical fuel reduction programs. We’ve also been able translate educational materials into Spanish, expanding our outreach to underserved populations.”
– Marika Ramsen, Sonoma County

“We’ve reduced redundancy, supported capacity and collaboration for other Fire Safe Councils, and boosted community engagement through Firewise USA. We also learn from other County Coordinators & implement those lessons learned.”
– Stephen Watson, Ventura County