The launch of California’s Joint Megafire Prevention Package and how prevention has moved to the centre of wildfire policy debate
California lawmakers gathered in Sacramento in March to launch what they described as the most comprehensive wildfire prevention package yet proposed in the state legislature. The Joint Megafire Prevention Package combined more than a dozen Senate and Assembly bills covering home hardening, beneficial fire, county coordination and new technology for fire agencies. The announcement came months after the fires that struck Los Angeles in 2025, events that continue to shape debate about rebuilding, insurance pressure and how governments prepare for future fire seasons.
The launch event brought together senators, assemblymembers, wildfire organisations and tribal representatives who outlined why they believed California required a stronger focus on prevention. Speakers returned frequently to the disruption caused when flames reach neighbourhoods, the rising cost of rebuilding and pressure on insurance markets.
Eric Horne, California Director of MegaFire Action, told the audience the package was intended to honour “the victims and survivors of the Los Angeles wildfires and countless other conflagrations” by strengthening work carried out before disaster strikes. He said this meant: “Expanding beneficial fire to restore resilience to our landscapes; providing homeowners with new resources and clear guidance to implement proven protections on their properties, like defensible space and home hardening; and accelerating the adoption of new technologies that reduce risk and give firefighters better tools to protect lives and property.”
The legislation was framed through the condition of landscapes, the vulnerability of homes and the systems used by public agencies to organise mitigation work. Matt Weiner, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of MegaFire Action, described the organisation’s mission when he addressed attendees: “We are a policy shop focused on one thing, which is enacting policy solutions to the catastrophic megafire crisis that is ravaging California and the nation.”
Housing after wildfire
Attention at the launch centred on houses and neighbourhoods exposed to wildfire. Several bills address home hardening, financing for retrofit work and certification of resilient buildings. Speakers linked wildfire mitigation to residents deciding whether they can remain in fire-prone communities.
Senator Ben Allen, who represents Pacific Palisades and Malibu, spoke about families in his district who remained displaced after the fires that hit Los Angeles in 2025. Many residents were moving between temporary accommodation while negotiating insurance claims and rebuilding plans; others remained unsure whether insurance cover would be available once homes were reconstructed.
Allen used that experience to explain SB 894, which proposes a California wildfire resilience loan programme modelled on the state’s energy financing schemes. He told the audience: “We know that there’s work that can be done to harden homes that can reduce a structure’s fire risk by over 35%, which is why home hardening and defensible space is the goal behind my SB 894.”
The proposal would allow homeowners to finance upgrades such as ember-resistant vents, improved windows or stronger roofs. Allen said residents often understand which improvements would reduce risk, though cost prevents many households from carrying them out.
Assemblymember Steve Bennett addressed ember exposure during fast-moving fires. Embers carried by wind can ignite structures even when flames remain some distance away; houses built or upgraded with resistant materials can interrupt that chain of ignition.
Bennett told the audience: “It’s fully hardened homes,” adding that “the most important bill that I will be pushing is a home hardened certification program.” His bill, AB 1934, would create a certification system designed to verify whether a property meets recognised hardening standards.
County coordination
Wildfire mitigation depends heavily on local organisation, an issue addressed by legislation introduced by Senator Josh Becker.
Becker told the audience that SB 973 would establish “a clear statewide framework for both prevention and for preparedness” while expanding the Wildfire County Coordinator Program. The bill would direct Cal Fire to develop guidance for risk assessment and support coordination between state agencies and county governments.
Jessica Martinez, Interim Executive Director of the California Fire Safe Council, said county coordinators had helped secure more than $104 million for mitigation projects and had reached close to one million residents through wildfire resilience education.
Alessandra Zambrano, Wildfire County Coordinator at the Nevada County Office of Emergency Services, described the role from local experience. “In Nevada County, this program has acted as a catalyst,” she said. “It’s allowed us to transform our rural community into a leader in wildfire mitigation and preparedness.”
Her description illustrated how local capacity shapes mitigation work on the ground.
Beneficial fire and tribal knowledge
Another set of proposals focused on beneficial fire and cultural burning.
Assemblymember Damon Connolly introduced AB 1891, while Assemblymember Chris Rogers introduced AB 1699; together the bills aim to increase the pace of prescribed burning across California. Connolly told the audience beneficial fire has been used by tribes “for over a millennium”.
Kenneth Brink, Vice Chairman of the Karuk Tribe, spoke about that history with urgency. “Indigenous people have been burning since time immemorial,” he said. “We know how to manage our landscapes and live in harmony and balance with fire.”
Brink connected the discussion to his own community in northern California. He described the aftermath of the 2020 Slater Fire, which destroyed homes in Happy Camp including the house of his mother. Land affected by that fire remains vulnerable, he said, because treatment has not yet taken place.
Assemblymember Rogers addressed barriers affecting prescribed burns. His bill, the Good Fire Act, deals with liability rules connected to cultural burns and certification requirements governing burn bosses. Speaking at the launch, Rogers said the legislation “will address liability and operational challenges with cultural and prescribed burns”.
Technology proposals
Technology also featured within the legislative package through a proposal introduced by Senator Henry Stern. SB 1079, known as the Fire Innovation Unit Act, would establish a Fire Innovation Unit within Cal Fire responsible for identifying operational needs and evaluating new technologies.
Christopher Anthony, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of FireWERX, told the audience that fire services often possess access to new tools while facing difficulty moving them into routine use. He said: “If we continue to fight today’s wildfires with yesterday’s tools, we should expect to have the same outcomes.”
Anthony said an innovation unit could provide a route for testing equipment in operational settings and deploying successful technology across the state.
Allen raised a similar question during the event when he asked: “What good is all this technology if we can’t sufficiently use it?”
Accountability after Los Angeles
Questions from reporters during the final part of the event turned attention back to the fires that struck Los Angeles in 2025. Allen told the audience he had written to Cal OES requesting further review. “The people in Los Angeles who suffered through this calamity deserve to get a really good reckoning of exactly what happened,” he said.
Bennett spoke about transparency during emergency response. Communities benefit, he argued, when agencies provide clear information about decisions taken during major incidents.
As the event concluded, Horne returned to the economic argument that had appeared throughout the discussion. He said the legislation sought to secure “the highest ROI possible for taxpayer dollars” through investment in mitigation measures that reduce the scale of future disasters.
The legislative fate of the package remains uncertain, though the launch event offered a clear view of how wildfire prevention is being framed within California’s policy debate. Lawmakers discussed houses exposed to ember storms, forests requiring treatment and local governments responsible for organising mitigation. Taken together, those themes suggest a growing effort to address wildfire risk before flames reach communities rather than after they have already burned.