Gov. Newsom signs $170 million wildfire resiliency bill
Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks about California wildfire preparedness at Grass Valley Interagency Air Attack Base in Nevada Co., June 29, 2023.
OAKLAND, Calif. - With California's wildfire season fast approaching, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday signed a bill to allocate over $170 million toward wildfire resiliency.
Newsom signed Assembly Bill 100, sponsored by Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel (D-46), which accelerates funding to conservancies for forest and vegetation management across the state. The bill also puts $10 million toward wildfire response and resiliency.
"With this latest round of funding, we're continuing to increase the speed and size of forest and vegetation management essential to protecting communities," Newsom said in a press release. "We are leaving no stone unturned — including cutting red tape — in our mission to ensure our neighborhoods are protected from destructive wildfires."
The bill implements the "early action" 2025 budget package to address items necessary for adoption this fiscal year.
Fair share
By the numbers:
The conservancies receiving funding include:
- $30,904,000 to the Sierra Nevada Conservancy
- $23,524,000 to the California Tahoe Conservancy
- $31,349,000 to the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy
- $30,904,000 to the State Coastal Conservancy
- $30,904,000 to the San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers and Mountains Conservancy
- $23,524,000 to the San Diego River Conservancy
Cutting tape
Dig deeper:
Gov. Newsom also signed an executive order to guarantee that the projects funded by AB 100 benefit are streamlined and exempt from "bureaucratic red tape" that can delay efforts to mitigate wildfire risks.
Newsom has for years worked to increase forest management and wildfire resilience, including several executive orders to improve community hardening and wildfire mitigation strategies statewide.
Fighting back
Why you should care:
Of the 20 most destructive fires in California's history, 15 have occurred in the last decade, including two that swept through Los Angeles earlier this year, the Eaton and Palisades fires.
California is investing $2.5 billion to implement Newsom's Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan, which was adopted in 2021. The plan calls for more fuel reduction and prescribed burns. All of the key actions outlined in the plan are underway or have already been implemented. That plan comes in addition to the $200 million invested annually through the 2028-2029 fiscal year for healthy forest and fire prevention programs.