California to provide $536 million in funding for wildfire mitigation, forest management

CENTRAL COAST, Calif. (KION) Gov. Gavin Newsom's office announced Thursday that the state is authorizing $536 million in funding for wildfire mitigation and forest management projects.

The funding would more than double the $200 million in annual spending, according to advocates, and last year, wildfire preparedness grants were dropped when the state expected financial issues due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The governor also announced previously that he used emergency powers to authorize nearly $81 million in funding to hire almost 1,400 new firefighters.