California is bringing a simple message to Climate Week NYC: Climate action means protecting people where they live, Governor Gavin Newsom said as he highlighted a new report on the state's work to reduce pollution and the risk of catastrophic wildfire.
Over five years, California trained hundreds of firefighting personnel, prepared thousands of acres to resist wildfire and prevented smoke and millions of metric tons of carbon from entering the air, according to the report. The work is helping reduce dangerous fuels, protecting watersheds and wildlife habitat, and preparing communities before the next fire starts.
"Climate change is no longer a distant threat. Californians can see it in the smoke on the horizon, in the dry forests and in the long fire seasons that test communities year after year. But we also know what action can do. We can restore our forests. We can reduce the fuels that turn a spark into a disaster. We can give firefighters more time and families a better chance to get out safely," Newsom said.
Using funding from SB 901, the state awarded more than 660 grants and 316 fuel reduction projects, treating hundreds of thousands of acres. Forest Health Grants funded during the reporting period are expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 11.1 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent over their lifetimes. The state treated more than 233,000 acres, reforested severely burned areas, and reduced the likelihood of high-severity wildfire across nearly 150,000 acres. More than 60% of the treatments will benefit areas with high biodiversity value.
More than 400 planning, fuel reduction and public education projects were carried out in 51 counties, including through the Wildfire Prevention Program, where nearly all aided in fire suppression and/or reduced fire behavior. More than 900 forest and wildland fire professionals were trained through 13 grants to expand forestry and wood products infrastructure and eight grants to community colleges, school districts and other organizations.
"We're seeing what sustained investment in wildfire resilience can deliver: safer communities, healthier forests, cleaner air and more jobs," said California Secretary for Natural Resources Wade Crowfoot. "But even as we make progress, hotter, drier conditions make California more vulnerable to severe wildfire — so we have to keep investing, keep scaling what works to reduce wildfire risk and better protect people and the places they call home."
"These achievements demonstrate the power of sustained investment and collaboration in wildfire resilience, leading to safer communities and healthier forests," said CAL FIRE Director and Fire Chief Joe Tyler.
During the 2024 Park Fire, grant-funded forest health treatments near Cohasset reduced fire intensity where the forest had been thinned, giving firefighters time to protect homes and property and residents time to evacuate safely. Along Highway 44 in Shasta County, more than 1,000 acres were treated through a partnership between CAL FIRE and California Military Department crews; when a fire started in the treated area in 2024, limited fuel and a quick response kept it to just 10 by 10 feet.