Trump’s fires: California fills federal void as mega-fires spread on neglected federal lands
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Sep 9, 2025

Trump's fires: California fills federal void as mega-fires spread on neglected federal lands

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What you need to know: With some of the state's largest wildfires of 2025 under federal jurisdiction including the Garnet Fire which now threatens 2,000-year old sequoias, the Governor announced more than 100 wildfire prevention projects have been fast-tracked under his state of emergency proclamation.

SACRAMENTO – While the Trump administration has been busy slashing U.S. Forest Service budgets by 10% and cutting 25% of firefighting support staff, California has worked to become the nation's de facto wildfire response leader, deploying state resources to protect communities that the federal government seems increasingly unwilling to defend.

California has experienced significant federal wildfire activity in 2025, with at least 15 major fires burning over 350,000 acres on national forest and Bureau of Land Management lands.  As federal lands burn across the state, California has stepped into the breach with billions in funding, thousands of personnel, and the world's largest aerial firefighting fleet to compensate for Washington's retreat from environmental stewardship. California only manages 3% of forests compared to 57% under federal management.

This comes as Governor Gavin Newsom announced today the state has fast-tracked over 100 vegetation management projects under the state of emergency he proclaimed earlier this year.

"It's a bitter irony that California taxpayers are funding both state and federal wildfire protection while the federal government that owns the burning land cuts funding and diverts resources to political theater. Trump can follow our lead now that we've approved more than 100 wildfire prevention projects spanning over 25,000 acres for fast-tracking since March."

Governor Gavin Newsom

Earlier this year, the Governor warned that the Trump administration's cuts to the U.S. Forest Service could have catastrophic results. The Governor also sent a model executive order to the White House for the President to issue to help the federal government match California's efforts and better manage its forestlands.

Despite jurisdictional boundaries, California has provided comprehensive support to all federal wildfire incidents through unified command structures, direct resource deployment, National Guard support, and extensive coordination systems that ensure seamless integration of state and federal firefighting capabilities.

Federal fires impacting California

Garnet Fire – Sierra National Forest, Fresno County

Size: 54,925 acres | Containment: 14% | Started: August 24, 2025 | Cause: Lightning
  • Status: The Garnet Fire remains the most active federal wildfire, burning in dense timber and beetle-killed trees in the Sierra National Forest. The fire has experienced dramatic growth, expanding by over 10,000 acres in single 24-hour periods.  The fire is currently threatening 2,000-year old giant sequoia trees – iconic to California's landscape. The Governor's Office brought this fire to the White House's attention weeks ago after it first started.
  • California Resources: California has provided unified command support through California Interagency Incident Management Team 10 (CIIMT 10). The Sierra National Forest has implemented partial closures, while California coordinates evacuations with local authorities for nine zones under evacuation orders and ten zones under evacuation warnings.

Gifford Fire – Los Padres National Forest, San Luis Obispo & Santa Barbara Counties

Size: 131,614 acres | Containment: 98% | Started: August 1, 2025 | Structures Destroyed: 5 | Injuries: 18 total (3 civilians, 15 firefighters)
  • Status: California's largest wildfire of 2025, the Gifford Fire achieved "mega fire" status by burning over 100,000 acres in rugged Los Padres National Forest terrain.
  • California Resources: Despite being on federal land, CAL FIRE provided extensive support through unified command with Los Padres National Forest and local sheriff's offices. California deployed 1,242 personnel, 37 engines, 52 dozers, 28 water tenders, 17 crews, and 2 helicopters, plus numerous air tankers. The state coordinated with local authorities complex evacuation operations across both counties.

Madre Fire – Los Padres National Forest & BLM Lands, San Luis Obispo County

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Size: 80,779 acres | Containment: 100% | Started: July 2, 2025 | Contained: July 26, 2025 | Structures Destroyed: 1 | Structures Damaged: 1
  • Status: Operating under unified command between Los Padres National Forest and Bureau of Land Management, this fire burned primarily federal lands.
  • California Resources: CAL FIRE San Luis Obispo Unit provided unified command support with 224 personnel at peak operations. California coordinated evacuations with local authorities for eight zones under evacuation orders and six zones under evacuation warnings.

Orleans Complex – Six Rivers & Klamath National Forests, Del Norte & Siskiyou Counties

Size: 22,144 acres | Containment: 91% | Started: July 9, 2025 | Cause: Lightning
  • Status: This complex fire consists of the Butler Fire, Red Fire, and Big Cliff Fire burning across multiple national forests.
  • California Resources: CAL FIRE coordinated multi-agency response and evacuations, including the complete evacuation of Forks of Salmon community. Three firefighters were hospitalized after a tree fall incident during suppression operations.

Green Fire – Shasta-Trinity National Forest, Shasta County

Size: 19,022 acres | Containment: 100% | Started: June 30, 2025 | Cause: Lightning
  • Status: Ignited following widespread thunderstorms that produced over 3,100 lightning strikes across Shasta-Trinity National Forest.
  • California Resources: The U.S. Forest Service coordinated with CAL FIRE for unified suppression efforts, with extensive mop-up operations completed.

For more information on fires impacting California, go to fire.ca.gov.

California's comprehensive support for federal lands

California has provided extensive resources to all major federal land fires through multiple mechanisms:

Personnel and equipment deployment
  • Unified Command Operations: CAL FIRE has co-led incident management on all major federal fires, providing command staff and coordination
  • Direct Resource Support: The state has deployed thousands of firefighters, hundreds of engines, dozers, water tenders, and aircraft to federal incidents
  • Specialized Teams: California Interagency Incident Management Teams (CIIMTs) made up of personnel from both the local government and federal level have managed multiple federal fires

National Guard support

Despite federal deployment reductions, California National Guard has provided critical support:
  • Nearly 1,000 service members activated for fire missions
  • Type I and Type II hand crews specifically trained for wildfire suppression
  • This support comes despite Task Force Rattlesnake operating at 40% capacity due to federal deployment to Los Angeles

Financial and logistics support
  • $72 million in additional state funding deployed for wildfire risk reduction projects on federal lands

Evacuation and emergency coordination
  • Cal OES coordinates local government law enforcement on evacuations and county emergency services staff for federal land fires
  • California closely follows the Standardized Emergency Management System (SEMS) ensures seamless coordination between state, local, and federal responders

California's unprecedented wildfire readiness

As part of the state's ongoing investment in wildfire resilience and emergency response, CAL FIRE has significantly expanded its workforce over the past five years by adding an average of 1,800 full-time and 600 seasonal positions annually – nearly double that of the previous administration. Over the next four years and beyond, CAL FIRE will be hiring thousands of additional firefighters, natural resource professionals, and support personnel to meet the state's growing demands.

In recent months, the Governor has announced millions of dollars in investments to protect communities from wildfire – with $135 million available for new and ongoing prevention projects and $72 million going out the door to projects across the state. This is part of over $5 billion the Newsom administration, in collaboration with the legislature, has invested in wildfire and forest resilience since 2019. Additionally, 103 new vegetation management projects spanning over 25,000 acres have already been fast-tracked to approval under the streamlined process provided by the Governor's March 2025 state of emergency proclamation.

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This builds on consecutive years of intensive and focused work by California to confront the severe ongoing risk of catastrophic wildfires. New, bold moves to streamline state-level regulatory processes builds long-term efforts already underway in California to increase wildfire response and forest management in the face of a hotter, drier climate.

The state's efforts are in stark contrast to the Trump administration's dangerous cuts to the U.S. Forest Service, which also threatens the safety of communities across the state. The U.S. Forest Service has lost 10% of all positions and 25% of positions outside of direct wildfire response – both of which are likely to impact wildfire response this year. In recent weeks, the Trump administration proposed a massive reorganization that would shutter the Pacific Regional Forest Service office and other regional Forest Service offices across the West, compounding staff cuts and voluntary resignations across the agency.

To learn more about preparedness, visit ReadyforWildfire.org

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