NEW: Report shows major progress in California on preparing for wildfire, avoiding millions of tons of carbon pollution and toxic smoke

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Sep 24, 2026

NEW: Report shows major progress in California on preparing for wildfire, avoiding millions of tons of carbon pollution and toxic smoke

What you need to know: As Governor Newsom highlights California's climate leadership during Climate Week NYC, a new state report shows how California is turning climate action into real protection for people, forests and communities facing a hotter, drier future.

NEW YORK CITY – California is bringing a simple message to Climate Week NYC: Climate action means protecting people where they live.

In California, that means reducing the threat of catastrophic wildfire. It means making forests healthier. It means giving firefighters more time and better tools to protect homes and communities.

Governor Gavin Newsom today highlighted a new report on California's work to reduce pollution and the risk of catastrophic wildfire while protecting California communities and lands. 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.

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.

Governor Gavin Newsom

Students from the Reedley College Fire Program in Fresno County

Reducing pollution and wildfire fuel

California, using funding from SB 901, awarded more than 660 grants and 316 fuel reduction projects, treating hundreds of thousands of acres and protecting communities.

• Forest Health Grants funded during the five-year reporting period will 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.
• Over 400 planning, fuel reduction, and public education projects in 51 counties including through the Wildfire Prevention Program, where nearly all of them 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 through the Business and Workforce Development Program.

"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. "Under Governor Newsom and the Legislature's leadership, California has dramatically increased the pace and scale of this work, and the results show these investments are making a real difference on the ground. 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."

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"CAL FIRE and our partners have delivered measurable results because of SB 901— protecting watersheds, wildlife habitat, and communities, while creating jobs and expanding training opportunities for the next generation of forestry and fire professionals," said CAL FIRE Director and Fire Chief Joe Tyler. "These achievements demonstrate the power of sustained investment and collaboration in wildfire resilience, leading to safer communities and healthier forests."

Over the last 11 years, over 700,000 seedlings have been planted at the Boggs Demonstration State Forest in Lake County

Investments in action

California's investments include protecting watersheds, tree, and wildlife habitat, reducing pollution, and creating jobs and economic opportunities statewide.

• Communities are better protected when wildfire occurs. 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 for residents to evacuate safely in a very short amount of time.
• Strategic fuel reduction can change the outcome of wildfire. 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 available fuel and a quick firefighter response kept it to just 10 by 10 feet.
• Californians are better prepared before a fire starts. Communities have strengthened wildfire preparedness through fuel reduction, home hardening, defensible space, planning, education and training. Together, these investments are building a stronger culture of preparedness, helping communities reduce risk, protect homes and give residents and firefighters a better chance of success when wildfire strikes.
• Expanding hands-on training and continuing education in forestry and wildland fire. State funding has supported the California Conservation Corps (CCC) to enroll young adults for a year in service, providing them with job skills and work experience to prepare them for wildland firefighting, forestry, and fuels management careers. Through 2024, the CCC used the funding for more than 100 projects, half of which included training for the corpsmembers.

This is practical climate action. It helps residents protect their homes. It helps firefighters work more safely. It helps communities recover faster.

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