CAL FIRE Announces $10M in Grants to Strengthen California's Forest Workforce
CAL FIRE Announces $10M in Grants to Strengthen California's Forest Workforce
September 22, 2026 – CAL FIRE announced the award of $10 million to 17 Business and Workflow Development grants, supporting innovative solutions that advance forest health, wildfire resilience, and rural economic development. Together, these 17 projects will train hundreds of workers, create new career pathways, expand the capacity to conduct forest restoration and wildfire risk reduction, and strengthen markets for wood and biomass generated through forest management.
CAL FIRE Highlights Achievements from a Five-Year, $1 Billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund Investment
CAL FIRE Highlights Achievements from a Five-Year, $1 Billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund Investment
September 24, 2026 – CAL FIRE published a report that highlights the outcomes of the state’s $1 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund investment in wildfire prevention and forest health efforts statewide. The investments funded more than 660 grants through various CAL FIRE programs. Implemented in 56 of California’s 58 counties, the projects had positive impacts, with individual projects contributing to community protection during wildfires, influencing wildfire behavior, strengthening a culture of preparedness, helping communities reduce risk and protect homes, improving the chances of success for residents and firefighters when wildfire strike.
CAL FIRE Opens Solicitations for Forest Legacy Grants
CAL FIRE Opens Solicitations for Forest Legacy Grants
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.
CAL FIRE Announces Availability of $20 Million for Wildfire Resilience
CAL FIRE Announces Availability of $20 Million for Wildfire Resilience
July 8, 2026 – $10 Million for Tribal Wildfire Resilience Grant Funding: CAL FIRE announced the availability of $10 million in Tribal Wildfire Resilience Grants to support California Native American tribes in managing ancestral lands, implementing and promoting Traditional Ecological Knowledge for wildfire resilience, and creating wildfire safety projects for Tribal and non-Tribal communities. Funded through the California Climate Bond (Proposition 4), Tribal Wildfire Resilience Grants fund projects in cultural and prescribed fire, fuels reduction, forest resilience, restoration of culturally important ecosystems, training, environmental compliance, and developing forest/fire management plans. Since 2023, $29 million has been awarded to 22 projects across the state, with project details available on the program’s webpage. Proposals are due September 8, 2026.
July 1, 2026 – $10 Million for Wildfire Resilience Block Grants: CAL FIRE opened a solicitation for Wildfire Resilience Block Grants with funding from Proposition 4. CAL FIRE’s Wildfire Resilience Program awards funding to build local capacity while providing financial and technical forestry assistance to nonindustrial forest landowners. The power of this program comes from the regional partner’s ability to set parameters for assistance that directly meet the unique needs of the landowners in their local region. Block grants are intended to deliver a large bulk amount of funding to a partner organization who then establishes a program of offering funding assistance to individual nonindustrial forest landowners. Concept Proposals are due August 7.
CAL FIRE Launches Forest Health Education Campaign
CAL FIRE Launches Forest Health Education Campaign
February 17, 2026 – CAL FIRE launched a new 2026 forest health media and education campaign. The campaign is aimed at helping Californians better understand the role healthy forests play in mitigating the growing wildfire threat and highlights the actions we can take together to reduce risk and protect lives, communities, and natural resources. A key focus of the campaign is highlighting proactive forest management, including beneficial fire as well as the important role individuals play at home and in their communities to prepare for wildfire through home hardening and by creating and maintaining defensible space. To support wildfire resilience messaging and public awareness, the campaign includes a new toolkit that contains easily customizable graphics and copy for use on social media, banners, and billboards.
Governor Newsom Extends Key Provision to Continue Fast-tracking Wildfire Projects
Governor Newsom Extends Key Provision to Continue Fast-tracking Wildfire Projects
December 31, 2025 – Governor Newsom announced the extension of a key provision of the March 2025 Emergency Proclamation on wildfire that will enable California to continue moving faster than ever to reduce catastrophic wildfire risk through a streamlined permitting process for wildfire prevention projects. Previously, qualifying projects had to be “initiated” in the calendar year 2025. Now, eligible projects can be initiated through May 1, 2026. 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. To date, nearly 240 projects covering more than 40,000 acres have been approved statewide and half are already underway or have been completed.
CAL FIRE Awards Over $62 Million in Wildfire Prevention Grants
CAL FIRE Awards Over $62 Million in Wildfire Prevention Grants
December 12, 2025 – CAL FIRE announced it will award nearly $62.6 million in funding for 84 local wildfire prevention projects across the state, including 41 projects in low-income and disadvantaged communities. CAL FIRE’s Wildfire Prevention Grants enable local organizations like fire safe councils to implement activities that reduce wildfire risk to communities. Funded activities include hazardous fuel reduction, wildfire prevention planning, and wildfire prevention education. These projects reach all corners of the state, including:
- Siskiyou County: The Shasta Valley Resource Conservation District will implement wildfire prevention efforts on the McCloud Fuels Management and Forest Stewardship Project, which proposes 375 acres of treatment including 200 acres of mastication and thinning and 175 acres of ridgeline shaded fuel break.
- Riverside County: the Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians will reduce hazardous fuels (saltcedar) on 223 acres of tribal lands. The project will reduce dust and wildfire fuel loads by removing saltcedar using root plowing and chipping.
- Los Angeles County: The San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments is one of many organizations receiving funding towards wildfire prevention efforts. Their project will work towards developing a Regional Wildfire Protection Plan that will help to protect over 31 cities and communities, 22 of which are identified as “Communities at Risk.”
These projects all meet the goals and objectives of California’s Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan, as well as the Strategic Fire Plan for California. Over the last six years, CAL FIRE has awarded more than $566 million in its Wildfire Prevention Grants Program to over 575 projects across the state. A full list of the 2025/2026 Wildfire Prevention Grant recipients is available here.
CAL FIRE and the Community Wildfire Planning Center Awarded for Training Program
CAL FIRE and the Community Wildfire Planning Center Awarded for Training Program
October 22 – The American Planning Association (APA) awarded CAL FIRE and the Community Wildfire Planning Center with the 2025 National Planning Award for Resiliency & Sustainability in recognition of their Land Use Planning for Wildfires in California training program. Launched in 2023, the training program offers free, full-day, in-person sessions designed for land use planners, fire marshals, fire chiefs, fire mitigation specialists, building officials, and other professionals from both government agencies and the private sector. To date, nearly 700 attendees participated in one of 24 trainings held across the State. Trainings have helped attendees:
• Increase understanding of the most up-to-date state requirements for planning in fire hazard areas.
• Expand knowledge of wildfire vulnerabilities in the built environment.
• Share information on best practices and resources.
• Interact with peers to exchange perspectives on fire mitigation and planning.
USDA California Climate Hub and Partners Release New Reforestation Planning Resources
USDA California Climate Hub and Partners Release New Reforestation Planning Resources
September 30, 2025 – The recently launched California Reforestation Toolshed website consolidates a variety of reforestation resources into one location, improving access to essential reforestation guidance and science. The Toolshed was collaboratively developed by the USDA California Climate Hub, CAL FIRE, American Forests, the Southwest Climate Adaptation Science Center and University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources.
The Toolshed includes 12 new California Climate-Informed Reforestation Guidance booklets. These booklets provide regionally specific recommendations for site preparation, planting, and post-planting management actions that can help establish forests that are resilient to climate effects, extreme weather, and wildfires.
California Climate-Informed Reforestation Guidance Booklets:
Governor Newsom Unveils California’s Updated Climate Adaptation Strategy
Governor Newsom Unveils California’s Updated Climate Adaptation Strategy
September 4, 2025 – Governor Newsom unveiled California’s updated Climate Adaptation Strategy — the state’s overarching framework to better protect communities and nature from dangerous climate impacts. California last updated the Strategy in 2021. The updated strategy sets strategic direction through six priorities:
- Protecting communities most vulnerable to climate change
- Improving public health and safety to protect against increasing climate risk
- Building a climate-resilient economy
- Expanding nature-based climate solutions and strengthening the resilience of natural systems
- Making decisions based on best available climate science
- Partnering and collaborating to leverage resources
These priorities are supported by cross-cutting climate resilience actions, each with associated success metrics. The strategy aligns with and builds on the goals set forth by California’s Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan and includes the following actions specific to wildfire resilience:
- Prioritize actions that reduce wildfire risks to California Native American tribes and climate vulnerable communities.
- Support wildfire-prone communities by increasing the capacity of local and regional partnerships to build and maintain a pipeline of forest health and fire prevention projects.
- Invest Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery funds in long-term disaster recovery and resilience building that targets the unmet housing recovery needs of low and moderate-income households in a way that mitigates disaster risk and reduces future losses among vulnerable communities.
- Reduce health impacts of wildfire and prescribed fire smoke.
- Reduce the risk of energy infrastructure-related ignitions that lead to catastrophic wildfire.
- Bring to scale a thriving forest and wood products market in California that leverages public investments by energizing private capital for sustainable forest management, regional economic recovery, and climate resilience.
- Increase the pace and scale of wildfire resilience and forest health projects.
- Reduce risks of wildfire through increased use of fuel breaks and fuels reduction.
- Assist the federal government in scaling up forest treatments by supporting collaborative forest management and encouraging landscape level planning.
- Coordinate and guide prescribed fire and cultural fire activities and address the key barriers to its widespread use in California.
- Expedite permitting processes for wildfire and forest resilience projects using exemptions or the California Vegetation Treatment program.
- Invest in science-based management focused on climate resilience of California’s fire adapted landscapes.
- Improve wildfire smoke guidance for schools, children, and other vulnerable populations. Develop outreach materials for health care providers and the public on wildfire smoke health effects and ways to decrease exposure.
- Collaborate with federal, state, tribal, and private partners to increase pace and scale of restoration of fire-adapted lands and maximize the climate resilience benefits of these treatments.
- Leverage federal funding to support fire-hardening roads and communities.