Despite the President’s dangerous recklessness, the state stands ready to protect communities. As part of the state’s ongoing investment in wildfire resilience and emergency response, CAL FIRE has significantly expanded its workforce over the past five years by adding an average of 1,800 full-time and 600 seasonal positions annually – nearly double that from the previous administration. Over the next four years and beyond, CAL FIRE will be hiring thousands of additional firefighters, natural resource professionals, and support personnel to meet the state’s growing demands.
For the first time ever, the state recently met and exceeded its 50,000-acre goal for beneficial fire – treating 51,286 acres with prescribed fire in the last year.
In recent months, the Governor has announced millions of dollars in investments to protect communities from wildfire – with $135 million available for new and ongoing prevention projects and $72 million going out the door to projects across the state. Additionally, 24 new vegetation management projects spanning nearly 8,500 acres have already been approved for fast-tracking under the Governor’s new streamlining initiative.
This builds on consecutive years of intensive and focused work by California to confront the severe ongoing risk of catastrophic wildfires, and Governor Newsom’s emergency proclamation signed in March to fast-track forest and vegetation management projects throughout the state. Additionally, to bolster the state’s ability to respond to fires, Governor Newsom recently announced that the state’s second C-130 Hercules airtanker is ready for firefighting operations, adding to the largest aerial firefighting fleet in the world.
New, bold moves to streamline state-level regulatory processes builds long-term efforts already underway in California to increase wildfire response and forest management in the face of a hotter, drier climate. A full list of California’s progress on wildfire resilience is available here.
Highlights of achievements to date include: