After months of negotiations in the context of a structural budget deficit, California lawmakers finalized the state’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2026-27 spending plan on September 1 in Assembly Bill 113 (AB 113). After significant uncertainty about whether wildfire resilience and other nature-based climate solutions would receive any funding, the final budget included appropriations for wildfire resilience from two sources: the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) and Proposition 4 (Prop 4).
GGRF is funded through California’s Cap-and-Invest program, which raises money for climate projects from major polluters through an auction system. Prop 4, passed by voters in 2025, is a $10 billion general obligation bond funding climate resilience and natural resource management programs, including $1.5 billion for wildfire and forest resilience. After the enactment of AB 113, approximately $929.5 million of that $1.5 billion for wildfire resilience will have been appropriated, or roughly 61%.
In terms of dedicated wildfire resilience funding, the amount allocated from both sources dropped significantly from previous years. FY 2025-26 allocated $798 million for wildfire resilience, while FY 2026-27 allocated $447.5 million, a 43.9% decrease. The FY 2026-27 allocation is the second lowest investment in wildfire resilience since 2019 (Chart 1).
Despite the fact that this year’s allocation is significantly lower than previous years, in the context of California’s challenging budget situation, the additional funding from Prop 4 and GGRF is a win for wildfire resilience across the state. The Wildfire Solutions would like to thank our Coalition members and supporters for their continued advocacy to avoid the worst-case scenario.
This funding offers a much-needed shot in the arm for wildfire resilience efforts in California. However, increased and sustained investment in wildfire resilience is necessary to break California’s cycle of catastrophic wildfire. As noted in CAL FIRE’s recent report to the legislature on its GGRF investments,
“Grant programs funded in full or in part by the SB 901 appropriation [GGRF funding for forest health and fire prevention] have played an important role to date in accelerating on-the-ground treatments and building the necessary capacity to sustain this work. These grant programs are almost always oversubscribed…this demonstrates the need for ongoing funding for these programs to maintain progress toward State goals…”
- Forest Health and Wildfire Prevention grant requests are close to three times higher than the funding available
- Business and Workforce Development grant requests are more than three times higher than funding available
- Forest Health Research grant requests are close to five times higher than funding available.
- Unmet demand was even higher in FY 2024-25.
Here’s a breakdown of where the major funding allocations landed this year:
| Agency | Amount (millions) | Purpose |
| Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund | ||
| CAL FIRE | $118 | Forest Health and Fire Prevention |
| Proposition 4 (Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness, and Clean Air Fund) | ||
| Office of Emergency Services | $25 | Statewide Community Wildfire Mitigation Program |
| CAL FIRE | $37.9 | Regional wildfire and forest health projects |
| $61.3 | Local FIre Prevention Grants and workforce development | |
| $35.5 | Forest Health Program, with $2,500,000 set aside for the Tribal Wildfire Resilience Program. | |
| $19.6 | Fuel reduction, structure hardening, create defensible space, reforestation, or targeted acquisitions | |
| $15 | Wildfire risk related to electricity transmission | |
| $5 | Fire training center | |
| Department of Conservation | $60 | Regional Forest and Fire Capacity Program |
| $15 | Long-term capital infrastructure to use forest and other vegetative waste removed for wildfire mitigation for noncombustible uses | |
| Department of Parks and Recreation | $33 | Stewardship of state-owned lands (wildfire resilience) |
| California Conservation Corps / Community Conservation Corps | $11.4 | Training and work program |