California has enacted a broad new wildfire package designed to speed prevention work, strengthen local preparedness and expand tools for protecting homes and communities from future fires.

Governor Gavin Newsom signed the legislation on September 29, 2026. The package builds on emergency actions the state says have already accelerated hundreds of wildfire-prevention projects across California.

Faster wildfire mitigation projects

According to the Governor’s Office, the new laws create a more durable process for moving qualifying fuel-reduction, forest-restoration and community-protection projects from planning into implementation more quickly while maintaining environmental safeguards.

The state says temporary streamlining measures had already helped advance more than 500 priority wildfire-prevention projects. The legislation is intended to make parts of that approach permanent.

Prescribed and cultural burning

The package also expands the state’s framework for prescribed and cultural burning. Among the changes described by the Governor’s Office are longer certification periods for State-Certified Prescribed Fire Burn Bosses and efforts to expand the pool of qualified instructors.

Prescribed fire is one of several tools used to reduce hazardous vegetation and restore fire-adapted landscapes when conditions and planning requirements allow.

A new Fire Innovation Unit

The legislation establishes a Fire Innovation Unit within CAL FIRE to focus on wildfire technology research, coordination, procurement and deployment. The goal is to improve tools used for community risk reduction and landscape-scale resilience.

Home hardening and defensible space

Another part of the package is aimed at lowering the up-front cost of wildfire mitigation for property owners. The Governor’s Office says the legislation creates a low-interest loan program intended to support home hardening and defensible-space work for homes and businesses.

Home hardening can include improvements intended to reduce the chance that embers, radiant heat or direct flame will ignite a structure. Requirements and eligible improvements vary, so property owners should verify details with the responsible state or local program before beginning work based on an expected benefit.

County-level wildfire preparedness

The package also creates a California Wildfire Preparedness Program intended to support county-level coordination on wildfire mitigation, prevention, preparedness and recovery. The state says the program will develop guidance and standards for local wildfire-risk modeling and analysis.

For California58, that county-level structure is especially important because wildfire risk, evacuation planning, building conditions and local response capacity vary substantially across the state’s 58 counties.

Utilities and water systems

The legislation also directs additional attention to infrastructure. The Governor’s Office says electric utilities will face updated requirements involving abandoned transmission infrastructure in wildfire-mitigation planning, while certain urban retail water suppliers in high and very-high fire-hazard areas will need to incorporate wildfire preparedness and response into emergency planning.

What residents should do now

The new laws do not replace local evacuation plans, CAL FIRE guidance, county emergency alerts or property-specific requirements. Residents in wildfire-prone areas should continue to use official local and state sources for evacuation information, defensible-space rules, insurance questions and current fire conditions.

California58 will continue connecting statewide policy changes to county-level emergency information and practical preparedness resources.

Official source

Governor of California – wildfire prevention and preparedness legislation

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