Protecting our Families & Communities from the Next Wildfire Disaster

Too many families across California know what it means to lose everything in a wildfire. We need a plan as big as the problem: make our homes fire-safe, provide residents with the best possible information as fast as possible in an emergency, and back our firefighters.

How it works

We’re going to do everything we can to rebuild, protect, and prepare for the next fire.

Build More, Build Faster

As Governor, I’ll sign an executive order declaring a housing emergency, cutting red tape so we can build back our communities even faster.

Fire-Safe, Fire-Ready Communities Initiative: Affordable Community Fire-Proofing

The more homes we can fireproof in risky areas, the safer our communities will be. That’s where my Fire-Safe, Fire-Ready Homes Initiative comes in to make community hardening more affordable. We’re going to create the first statewide plan that identifies community wildfire risk and the most cost-effective ways to reduce it. I’ll use our state resources and provide direct support to Californians, especially our lowest-income families, so fireproofing is accessible to all homeowners.

Alerts That Work Initiative

When disaster strikes, our response is a matter of life and death. We’ll create one standard across California. Staff on call 24/7, with trained backups. Alerts out within minutes. Messages written in advance, in the languages Californians speak, with clear instructions and accessible to people with disabilities. Delivery through every channel — cell networks, sirens, loudspeakers, patrol cars, door-to-door — so no one is missed for lack of a phone or internet. And a debrief after every fire so each response is faster than the last.

Backing our Firefighters

As Governor, I’m going to support our firefighters with the resources they need and the workweek they deserve. Supporting firefighters means investing in the people who stand ready to protect Californians when we need them most, improving our firefighter retention rate, ensuring better pay and making safety a top priority.

How you’ll benefit

Making your home and your community fire-safe costs money, and no family should have to choose between putting food on the table and protecting their home. We’re going to invest in a permanent source of funding to help homeowners meet the state’s home safety standards – including direct financial help for families who need it most. As Governor, I’ll make fire safety for homes and our communities affordable – and as we cut fire risk, we bring down your insurance bills. We’re going to make homes fire-safe, fire-ready and protect families and communities before a fire ever starts. But we’ll be ready when one breaks out anyway.

Why it’s good for California, too

Fourteen of the twenty most destructive wildfires in California occurred in the last decade including the Eaton, Palisades, Camp and Woolsey fires. These fires underscore the need to take action to protect people and our communities.

There are two million homes in our highest-risk areas, 90% of them built before modern, wildfire-safe building codes and community design. The Alert That Works initiative will update our communities’ response times, we’ll cut red tape, and we’ll support a strategy that hardens our homes, clears hazardous fuels, and fully backs our frontline fire personnel.

What’s standing in the way

Californians deserve action not just from the state, but from the federal government.

Donald Trump promised to “end the nightmare of delay,” yet more than 18 months later, families in Altadena and Pacific Palisades are still waiting. Donald Trump is sitting on over $30 billion in aid while families are forced to rebuild out of pocket. Americans are being denied help for one reason: they live in a blue state. He’s demanded we reopen non-existent water spigots. He’s used disaster aid as leverage to change our voter ID laws and rig our elections. His actions are those of a crooked dictator, not a President who cares for the American people.

As Governor, I won’t stop fighting until Donald Trump releases the aid that thousands of Californians are owed.