Media & Coalition Contact
Fiona Hutton & Associates
Julia Connolly, jconnolly@fionahuttonassoc.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 17, 2025
Wildfire Resilience Funding Preserved by California Legislature Amid Budget Challenges
SACRAMENTO, CA — In a year marked by fiscal uncertainty, the California State Legislature took action to protect critical wildfire resilience funding, safeguarding needed resources to protect the health of our landscapes and communities.
The Wildfire Solutions Coalition—formed in June 2025—entered the session with a focused agenda:
- Extend the Cap-and-Invest program through 2045
- Protect $200 million in Cap-and-Invest allocations for wildfire resilience
- Appropriate Proposition 4 wildfire resilience funding
All three priorities were secured before adjournment, marking a significant victory for the Coalition and its growing membership of 50+ respected statewide and regional organizations. Throughout the session, the Coalition coordinated in-person legislative briefings, issued a widely supported sign-on letter, and collaborated on influential communications.
The actions taken this session will make hundreds of millions of dollars available next year, which will have far-reaching benefits for communities across our state and for members of the Wildfire Solutions Coalition. These funds are aligned with the goals of the State’s Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan and support the balance needed for both wildfire resilience and emergency response. Funds from these programs support a broad range of regionally-appropriate community and landscape resilience investments which will protect California’s water supplies, mitigate air quality and health impacts associated with wildfire, and protect biodiversity. The Coalition is grateful to the legislature and administration for their leadership.
As we look ahead to 2026, significant work remains to begin to break California’s cycle of catastrophic wildfires. The Wildfire Solutions Coalition will continue advancing solutions and pressing for action on key priorities, including increasing appropriations for wildfire resilience and nature-based solutions from the one billion dollars in discretionary cap-and-invest revenues set aside by SB 840 and from Proposition 4. The Coalition will also undertake a robust effort to educate gubernatorial candidates about the need for targeted investments in resilience to avert the skyrocketing costs of inaction on wildfire, and to protect our communities, water supply, and biodiversity that is central to California’s identity and quality of life.
The Coalition looks forward to continuing to engage with policymakers in 2026 around the need to better fund the state’s wildfire resilience and response efforts. To get involved with the Coalition or learn more about the organization’s work, please visit the links below.
The coalition invites all Californians to learn more and get involved.
Visit our website to learn more: https://wildfiresolutionsca.org
About the Wildfire Solutions Coalition
The Wildfire Solutions Coalition is a statewide alliance committed to securing long-term funding for wildfire mitigation and resilience. We believe California must invest in proactive solutions that protect lives, homes, ecosystems, and the economy — before the next fire starts. The goal of the Coalition is to secure the resources necessary—in the private sector and across local, state, and federal levels— to achieve California’s wildfire resilience goals and dramatically reduce the impacts of catastrophic wildfire across the state.