Wildfires are inevitable. Catastrophic losses are not. The most effective way to protect lives and property is by investing in the places where people live—not in distant forests. Home hardening, defensible space, and community-wide readiness save lives, reduce damage, and build resilience.

After the recent fires in Los Angeles area, more and more residents and officials "get" the importance of home hardening to make us safer from wildfire. We must build on the growing momentum.

Our goal is to shift public and policymaker focus toward proven, cost-effective wildfire risk-reduction strategies—home hardening, defensible space, and community preparedness—rather than relying primarily on forest thinning, which has limited impact on protecting communities from fast-moving, wind-driven wildfires.

Identifying the legislative vehicle that will provide financial incentives for home hardening and to expanding the team to include motivated volunteers and allies are the first steps. Once the legislative vehicle is identified, work can begin meeting with legislators and reaching out to potential supporters, especially those who would be persuasive to key legislators.

The Stop Clearcutting California Campaign and Sierra Club California lobbying and organizing staff are joining forces to promote home hardening. We are looking for people who are energized by this issue and eager to take action. Some of the tasks we need help with are as follows:

• Study the 2025 California budget and suggest and suggest how much money we should seek for home hardening in the 2026 budget.
• Help make sure new hardening laws are implemented in a way that serves Californians.
• Monitor new legislation looking for new bills the Club should support or oppose.
• Identify potential allies and supporters. Reach out to them through conversation and/presentations. We need to build strong support for home hardening funding in or for legislators or agencies to act.
• Write letters to editor and blogs promoting home hardening.

If obtaining government funding to help defray the cost of home hardening is important to you and some of these tasks appeal to you, please apply for our team. We need you!