Overview

• The administration has requested a 63% reduction in the U.S. Forest Service budget, including plans to cut 30% of its workforce, roughly 10,000 employees.
• FEMA’s Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities grants have been terminated, removing a key source of funding for state wildfire preparedness.
• The U.S. Forest Service, which oversees more than half of California’s forestland, would lose crews responsible for clearing vegetation, conducting fire science and operating critical equipment.
• Officials warn that prolonged drought, strong Santa Ana winds and dry fuels create significant fire potential across Northern California, the Sierra Nevada and coastal regions.
• California remains vulnerable as it recovers from January’s Palisades Fire, which killed 12 people, destroyed over 6,000 structures and scorched more than 23,000 acres.