Prescribed Fire Liability Claims Fund Pilot
Prescribed FireLiability Claims Fund Pilot
The Need
One of the primary obstacles to increasing the use of prescribed and cultural fires in California is the difficulty of obtaining adequate liability coverage. While escape rates are very low, there is always some risk when working with fire. Liability coverage protects qualified practitioners, property owners, and the public from the associated financial risk. However, many practitioners on private or tribal land are unable to obtain affordable private insurance for beneficial fire operations.
The Legislation
In September 2022 Governor Newsom signed into law SB 926, which established a pilot Prescribed Fire Claims Fund. This legislation authorizes claims covering certain losses arising from prescribed fires and cultural burning until January 1, 2028. This claims fund is intended to both encourage increased beneficial fire use and demonstrate that prescribed and cultural burning is low risk, to entice private insurers back into the market.
The Fund
Administered by CAL FIRE, the $20 million allocated for the Prescribed Fire Liability Claims Fund Pilot will cover losses in the rare instance that a prescribed or cultural burn escapes control, providing up to $2 million in coverage for prescribed fire projects led by a qualified burn boss or cultural practitioner. The fund is meant to demonstrate that carefully planned, resourced, and implemented beneficial fire is a low-risk land management tool to mitigate high-severity wildfires and promote healthy and resilient landscapes.
To Enroll
Enrollment in the Fund is done by completing the California Prescribed Fire Claims Fund Online Application. To be eligible to enroll in the Fund, a prescribed fire must be conducted or supervised by a Burn Boss or a Cultural Fire Practitioner for a Cultural Burn.
Questions
CAL FIRE offers a detailed set of Frequently Asked Questions, covering everything from enrollment, application approval, claims submissions, coverage limits and much more.
RESOURCES
Interview with Lenya Quinnn-Davidson on the Prescribed Fire Claims Fund
California Takes a Big Step to Help Insure Private Companies That Fight Fire With Fire
CNRA Publishes Annual Report on 30x30 Initiative
CNRA Publishes Annual Report on 30x30 Initiative
30×30 is California’s landmark commitment to conserve 30 percent of the state’s lands and coastal waters by 2030. This important target has launched a collective initiative that leads the world in protecting, restoring and preserving our natural environment. Real, tangible progress is being made toward realizing this goal. On May 18, CNRA released its annual report showing that California added approximately 631,000 acres of conserved land since April 2022, bringing the statewide total to 24.4 percent of lands and 16.2 percent of coastal waters protected. The report details investments of $116 million in 83 different conservation projects, and shows meaningful progress on 79 of the 112 Pathways to 30×30.
Planscape now lives on the Task Force website
Planscape Now Lives on the Task Force Website
A collaborative effort between CA Natural Resources Agency, USFS, UC Berkeley, Spatial Informatics Group and Google.org, Planscape is a decision support tool that empowers regional planners to prioritize resilience treatments across the landscape and inform the funding process. Planscape partners provided a demonstration of the tool at the March 30 Task Force meeting. This version of the tool is available for beta testing, with the region-specific scenarios released this summer through fall.
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California’s Joint Strategy for Sustainable Outdoor Recreation & Wildfire Resilience
California’s Joint Strategy for Sustainable Outdoor Recreation & Wildfire Resilience
This Joint Strategy, developed by the Task Force Sustainable & Accessible Recreation Key Working Group, provides a roadmap for improved access to sustainable outdoor recreation, with a focus on areas where wildfires are impacting those opportunities throughout California.
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Regional Resource Kits and Profiles Are Now Available
Regional Resource Kits and Profiles Are Now Available
The Task Force’s Science Advisory Panel has completed Regional Resource Kits and Regional Profiles for both the Sierra Nevada and Southern California regions. These invaluable tools are now available here on the Task Force website.
Regional Resource Kits offer critical tools and data to guide regional partners and collaboratives in their efforts to reduce wildfire hazard and improve the conditions of forested and shrub landscapes.
Likewise, Regional Profiles bring together the best available scientific information and a wide range of input from stakeholders throughout the region.
The Science Team will now focus on collecting data and tools for the Central Coast in preparation for the May 2023 Task Force meeting.
The 2021 Caldor Fire: One Year Later Video Series
The 2021 Caldor Fire: One Year Later Video Series
October 21, 2022, marks exactly one year since the Caldor Fire was completely contained.
Over the last year and with months of research and collaboration, the Eldorado National Forest released a four-part series examining the Caldor Fire. This series reviews the suppression efforts that took place, the fire behavior challenging firefighters, the road to rehabilitation and restoration, and what is being done now to lower the future risk of fire to communities.
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Episode 1: Initial response and experiences of firefighters who not only worked but also lived in the area
Episode 2: How fire behavior and fuel conditions made for a challenging fire fight
Episode 3: What restoration and rehabilitation work has occurred and its importance
Episode 4: What is being done to reduce extreme wildfire behavior
CNRA Announces Tool to Improve Wildfire Resilience with Support from Google.org
CNRA announces tool to Improve Wildfire Resilience with Support from Google.org
The CNRA and the USDA FOREST SERVICE, along with support from Google.org, Google’s philanthropic arm, has developed Planscape – a new wildfire resilience planning tool that uses state and federal resilience data to create user-friendly models that will be easily accessible to land planners. A demonstration of Planscape was released at the California Wildfire & Forest Resilience Task Force meeting on September 27th, 2022. The new, open-source tool will permit everyone to evaluate fire risks and remedies.
RESOURCES
Expert Roundtable on Wildfire and Forest Resilience
Expert Roundtable on Wildfire and Forest Resilience
Exacerbated by climate change, the increasing frequency and scale of wildfires have devastated communities and ecosystems around the world, while releasing vast quantities of carbon into the atmosphere.
In the face of these accelerating challenges, calls for climate-smart management of natural lands have grown louder among policymakers, experts, and stakeholders. Government and civil society programs have begun investing in forest resilience and nature-based solutions to deliver on mitigation and adaptation goals, working with Indigenous partners whose knowledge and experience are vital.
Recognizing the need to bring together interdisciplinary, international coalitions to advance wildfire prevention, mitigation, and response, Prime Minister Trudeau and Governor Newsom committed their respective governments to hosting a roundtable on wildfire and forest resilience within their broader Climate Action and Nature Protection Partnership which they announced in June. By bringing together officials, academics, industry and civil society at UN Climate Week, this event delivers on that vision. By convening thought leaders to discuss our collective challenges, Canada and California hope to discuss collective challenges and chart next steps.
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US Forest Service Response
Governor Newsom’s Recap of Climate Week 2022
30x30 Partnership Kick-Off
30x30 Partnership Kick-Off
On September 28, CNRA kicked off collaboration and community engagement around the 30 x 30 initiative, which commits California to the goal of conserving 30 percent of our lands and coastal waters by 2030. The Task Force is committed to aligning wildlife and forest resilience efforts with the state’s biodiversity and climate goals. Goal 3 of the Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan outlines how the Task Force will seek to integrate forest management into state climate and biodiversity strategies.
CA Celebrates Launch of Tribal Conservation Corps Program
CA Celebrates Launch of Tribal Conservation Corps Program
Governor Newsom’s proposed 2022-’23 state budget includes $7.2 million in funding for the California Conservation Corps to establish more tribal conservation corps like the one being launched today.
RESOURCES