On the heels of a White House wildfire briefing with Western state governors, Gov. Gavin Newsom recently joined U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and U.S. Forest Service Fire Chief Randy Moore to discuss state and federal collaboration on ​wildfire response. The group met at the burn area of the 2020 August Complex, and also pondered fuels management and other efforts to build wildfire resilience amid extreme climate impacts across the West.

Moore recently issued a memo to all regional foresters temporarily halting the method of managed fire as a suppression strategy until further notice, and prioritizing fires that threaten communities and infrastructure. The action follows the governor’s requests that federal wildfire suppression strategies be reassessed amid the extreme risk posed by current fire conditions. Newsom has also called for federal investments to support additional firefighting personnel, aerial firefighting equipment and long-term access to satellite technology for early fire detection.

“California is fortunate to have strong federal partners committed to taking aggressive action to tackle the existential threat of catastrophic wildfires in the West driven by climate change impacts,” said Newsom. “Together, we’re scaling up our vital work to improve the health of forests and landscapes across multiple ownerships and jurisdictions, and ensuring we prioritize efforts in communities that face the greatest risks.”