California Strengthens Local Wildfire Prevention
A new California law strengthens the system that helps Fire Safe Councils and other local organizations connect with wildfire funding and turn it into projects on the ground.
California has made the Wildfire County Coordinator Program a permanent part of state law, strengthening an important link between statewide wildfire resources and the communities working to reduce wildfire risk.
The program is administered by the California Fire Safe Council in partnership with CAL FIRE and supports County Coordinators who connect fire agencies, local governments, Fire Safe Councils, community organizations and residents with planning, technical assistance and funding opportunities.
The financial impact has already been significant. According to the California Fire Safe Council, County Coordinators have helped secure more than $163 million for local wildfire mitigation and preparedness projects across California. The program currently reaches 52 of California's 58 counties. California Fire Safe Council
The funding structure is also substantial. The 2025 state budget appropriated $9.5 million to CAL FIRE to make available to the California Fire Safe Council for the Wildfire County Coordinator Program. A separate 2025 County Coordinator grant round made $7.8 million available to eligible counties and their designated representatives for local coordination and capacity-building.
SB 973 does not itself appropriate additional money. Instead, it puts the County Coordinator Program into state law and strengthens its role in helping communities identify financial resources, access state and federal wildfire-resilience programs, coordinate home-hardening and defensible-space efforts, and move local preparedness projects forward.
For local Fire Safe Councils, that may be the most important part: a stronger, permanent pathway for connecting community needs with the funding and resources available to address them.
