One year after LA fires: California deploys firefighting resources and advanced technology, accelerates prevention efforts

Cutting red tape to deploy wildfire projects faster 

Following the Los Angeles fires, Governor Newsom issued an emergency proclamation directing state agencies to accelerate high-priority wildfire safety projects while maintaining environmental protections. The state implemented a fast-tracked permitting process that reduces approval timelines to as little as 30 days—saving a year or more for complex projects.

To date, 218 wildfire prevention projects covering over 40,000 acres have been approved statewide, including 48 projects in Southern California, with 10 projects covering nearly 1,000 acres in Los Angeles County. Last week, Governor Newsom extended the deadline by which qualifying projects must be initiated until May 1, 2026.  

Notable projects include:

• A 600+acre fuels reduction project led by the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority near the Palisades Fire footprint in Los Angeles County.
  

• The 350+ acre Tonner Canyon South Vegetation Management Project will reduce wildfire risk south of Diamond Bar in Los Angeles County by removing hazardous vegetation, creating fuel breaks, and improving defensible space. 
  

• The nearly 3,000-acre Scott Valley–Callahan Fuels Reduction and Forest Resiliency Project in Siskiyou County is removing hazardous fuels and creating strategic fuel breaks to protect local communities. 

The state developed a new Statewide Fuels Reduction Environmental Protection Plan to ensure projects move quickly while safeguarding water and air quality, tribal cultural resources, and sensitive species and habitats. All fast-tracked projects are publicly available through a transparent, easy-to-use online dashboard. 

Delivering historic funding to local wildfire prevention efforts 

Last month, CAL FIRE awarded nearly $62.7M in Wildfire Prevention Grants to support 84 projects across California, including 41 in low-income and disadvantaged communities. $10.3M will fund 16 projects in Southern California, with $2.7M for 4 projects in Los Angeles County.

In Los Angeles County, the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments will develop a Regional Wildfire Protection Plan to protect over 31 cities and communities, 22 of which are identified as “Communities at Risk.” The grants support fire-safe councils, tribes, community groups, and local governments implementing hazardous fuels reduction, defensible space projects, evacuation planning, and community education.

Over the last six years, CAL FIRE has awarded more than $566 million in Wildfire Prevention Grants to over 575 projects statewide. CAL FIRE has also awarded $24.59 million in Forest Health grants in the Southern Region and completed nearly 31,000 defensible space inspections in Southern California.

Climate Bond funding is making a difference in reducing wildfire risk

Governor Newsom and the California Legislature deployed $170 million in voter-approved Proposition 4 (Climate Bond) funding for wildfire resilience projects.  

Over $48 million has already been awarded through State Conservancies, $38 million of those funds directly reducing wildfire risk in Southern California. 

This includes over $20 million from the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy for 16 projects protecting communities near the Palisades Fire and over $10 million from the San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers and Mountains Conservancy for four projects in communities impacted by the Eaton Fire. Hundreds of millions more in Climate Bond funding will continue to be distributed to high-priority wildfire projects over the next several years.