Protecting Californians in a hotter, drier world

Governor Newsom has added unprecedented resources to support wildfire response, and dramatically ramped up state work to increase wildland and forest resilience.

Here are steps the state has taken to protect Californians from wildfires include:

Biggest state investment in fire response in history

• Investing in wildfire response and prevention. The Governor’s Budget reflects a total of $4 billion which maintains $2.5 billion in prior investments and commits another $1.5 billion over the next several years. 
• More boots on the ground than ever before. Last year, Governor Newsom invested $2 billion to support CAL FIRE operations, a 47% increase since 2018. These investments have helped build CAL FIRE from 5,829 positions to 10,741 in that same period. The Administration is implementing shorter workweeks for state firefighters to prioritize firefighter well-being while adding 2,400 additional state firefighters to CAL FIRE’s ranks over the next five years.

Expanded aerial fleet

• Expanding the world’s largest aerial firefighting fleet. Governor Newsom has overseen the expansion of California’s aerial firefighting fleet, including the addition of more than 16 helicopters with several equipped for night operations, expanded five helitack bases, and assumed ownership of seven C-130 air tankers, making it the largest fleet of its kind globally. The state also adds to its world-leading air attack capacity through recent new funding to contract 24 additional non-state owned firefighting aircraft.

More forest management and prescribed burns than ever before

• Preventing wildfire through forest and land management.  The state is investing $2.5 billion to ramp up and implement the Governor’s Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan, increasing the pace of fuel reduction, prescribed fire, and forest health. 100% of the 99 key actions outlined in the plan are underway or completed. This is in addition to $200 million invested annually through 2028-29 for healthy forest and fire prevention programs.

• Using controlled burns to build community and forest resilience. California launched a strategic plan on beneficial fire to expand the use of prescribed fire and cultural burning to build forest and community resilience. Key goals from the plan are already in action to increase the use of prescribed fires, and prescribed fire activity has nearly doubled between 2021 and 2023.
• Tracking wildfire prevention. California recently unveiled newly updated, first-of-their-kind dashboards that will help Californians track the state’s wildfire prevention work.

New technology to prevent and fight fire

• Cutting-edge drone technology. CAL FIRE has doubled its use of drones for critical tasks like aerial ignition during prescribed burns, wildfire containment, and real-time assessments.
• Artificial intelligence and real-time data tools. The state is leveraging AI-powered tools to spot fires quicker and the Fire Integrated Real-Time Intelligence System (FIRIS) to provide real-time mapping of wildfires.
• Advanced mapping and satellite technology. California has partnered with the U.S. Department of Defense to use satellites for wildfire detection and invested in LiDAR technology to create detailed 3D maps of high-risk areas, helping firefighters better understand and navigate complex terrains.
• Greater capabilities for incident reporting. CAL FIRE has expanded its capabilities for incident reporting at fire.ca.gov, updating the incident map with near real-time information about firefighting aircraft activity, 3-D maps with evacuation orders, local shelter information, road closures, and more.