On January 19th, U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) announced an investment of $490 million to expand efforts to reduce wildfire risk across the Western United States in 11 high risk landscapes. Five of the new projects are in California, covering nearly 19 million acres: 

  • Klamath River Basin in California and Oregon – 10 million acres
  • Southern California Fireshed Risk Reduction Strategy – 4 million acres 
  • Sierra and Elko Fronts in Nevada and California – 3.4 million acres 
  • Trinity Forest Health and Fire-Resilient Rural Communities – 910,000 acres 
  • Plumas Community Protection – 285,000 acres  

Funding for these projects will support strategic forest thinning, removal of hazardous vegetation, controlled burns, and infrastructure upgrades.  These mitigation efforts are part of the Forest Service’s 10-Year Plan for Confronting the Wildfire Crisis.