Gov. Gavin Newsom signed new legislation on Monday that will provide more than $170 million in state funding to help prevent wildfires while signing an order aimed at speeding up the work by easing environmental permitting.
The funding — which the Democratic governor said was part of a broader effort to better protect communities ahead of peak fire season — comes as the state is under extraordinary pressure after the January infernos that devastated Los Angeles communities.
California has already experienced its second most destructive fire year on record, with more than 16,000 homes and other buildings damaged or destroyed by the two major fires in the Los Angeles area. Most of the destruction occurred in neighborhoods where development meets wildland, a high-risk area known as the wildland-urban interface.
The money comes from a $10 billion bond measure for environmental projects approved by California voters last year.
Authorized as part of a fast-tracked, early action budget bill approved by the Legislature, the funds will be paid to six conservancies throughout California. The agencies, which operate under the governor’s Resources Agency, will manage the removal of vegetation and thinning of forests within their regions.
At least half, $85 million, will be directed to conservancies in Southern California, while $54 will focus on the Sierra Nevada. The approval of the funding comes after Newsom in March declared a state of emergency to clear flammable brush.
In addition to the legislation, Newsom signed an executive order that allowed wildfire prevention projects to benefit from streamlining provisions outlined in his March emergency proclamation, which suspended certain environmental laws, including the California Environmental Quality Act and the California Coastal Act for projects deemed urgent.
Newsom earlier this year promised $2.5 billion for various wildfire resilience projects. Prescribed burns, a land management tool designed to reduce fuel loads, are a major part of the state’s strategy.
Wildfire season is starting earlier and lasting longer, exacerbated by climate change. Altered cycles of dry and wet years build up vegetation that is vulnerable to fire, and California’s wildfires are acting more erratically and burning longer.