PR Newswire
63 Grants Totaling $950,000 Awarded to Local Fire Departments, Fire Agencies and Community Groups
SACRAMENTO, Calif.
, Sept. 9, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Despite the coolest summer in Northern and Central California in more than a decade, wildfire risk remains constant. That’s why The California Fire Foundation (CFF), with support from the PG&E Corporation Foundation (PG&E Foundation), is helping communities prevent and prepare to respond to the ongoing wildfire threat. Together, they have awarded $950,000 in wildfire safety grants to 63 local fire departments, fire agencies and non-profit groups primarily in Northern and Central California.
This is the eighth year CFF and the PG&E Foundation have partnered to award grants to help communities bolster their disaster preparedness and response programs. This year, the PG&E Foundation committed an additional $200,000 to enhance the grant program and provide more community funding.
CFF reviewed over 190 submissions during a month-long application window and distributed the annual wildfire safety grants to agencies in high wildfire-risk areas. The grant awards come during National Preparedness Month, observed each September to raise awareness of preparing for disasters and emergencies.
The grants will be used to purchase personal protective and specialized equipment for firefighters, complete defensible space and vegetation management work, reduce fuels and hazards, and conduct fire safety public education and outreach. See the list of grant recipients.
The PG&E Foundation and Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) support CFF’s broader 2025 Wildfire Safety and Preparedness Program (WSPP) with $1.65 million in charitable funding. The program works to raise awareness about wildfire safety throughout California and deliver resources to underserved communities in high fire-risk areas. The grants to local organizations are a core component of the WSPP, funding also supports CFF’s public safety education and outreach multimedia campaign in a variety of languages.
“This time of year is critical for the California Fire Foundation as we review WSPP grant applications from fire departments, agencies, and nonprofits. Each application reinforces the urgent need for resources to help mitigate wildfire risk,” said Brian K. Rice, Chair of the California Fire Foundation. “The WSPP program is a lifeline for many of our firefighters, and it wouldn’t be possible without the support of PG&E. With drought conditions, warmer temperatures, and drier months ahead, the threat of wildfire remains real. These grants allow us to equip local agencies with funding for vegetation management, fuel reduction, specialized equipment, community outreach, and essential protective gear.”
Since 2018, 431 grantees that include fire departments and fire agencies statewide have received $5.5 million in direct funding through the grant program as part of WSPP, and each year the program receives more applications than the prior year. Funding targets specific communities identified as having extreme or elevated fire risk by the California Public Utilities Commission High Fire-Threat District map.
“PG&E has the privilege of serving 16 million people every day who live in 48 counties and 246 cities and towns in Northern and Central California,” said Sumeet Singh, EVP, Operations and Chief Operating Officer. “As the risk of wildfire continues to grow, partnerships like the one with the California Fire Foundation are critical for protecting the hometowns where our friends, families and neighbors live and work. By making homes and businesses fire-safe, by providing firefighters with the tools and equipment they need, by raising awareness of how we all can prevent wildfires — we are truly making everyone and everything safer.”
The WSPP focuses on two key areas to help keep communities safe:
- A wildfire safety campaign that features fire safety education, developed by CFF, in English, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Hmong to promote early evacuation during fires. The WSPP has worked diligently to overcome language barriers by developing and distributing in-language fire-safety messaging. This campaign includes advertising on radio, television and digital ads, as well as outdoor billboards in high fire-threat areas.
- A grant program administered by the CFF through an application process. The CFF awards grants to recipient fire departments, agencies and community groups in support of projects and programs focusing on wildfire/disaster prevention, preparedness and/or relief and recovery assistance.
How the WSPP Helps Communities
Grant funding this year supports projects anticipated to have the following impact:
- Over 1,000 pieces of personal protection equipment such as helmets, boots, gloves, goggles, and fire shelters.
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Fuel reductions/vegetation management
- Multiple acres of hazardous tree and brush removal
- Millions of pounds of tree limbs, branches and other combustibles chipping and hauling
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Multiple prescribed fires or pile burns
Fire safety education provided across 12 counties potentially benefiting over 1.4 million residents. - Over 1,000 pieces of specialized equipment including water storage tanks, portable radios, headlamps, hoses/clamps/nozzles, chainsaws and gear packs
- Total Estimated Impact:1,269,224 Residents
There were 196 applications and $4.29M in funding requests submitted from agencies in California during the 2025 wildfire safety grant application period.
PG&E and the PG&E Foundation have provided $10.45 million in total support for fire safety awareness through the WSPP since the partnership began, with more than half the funding supporting community-based grants. The charitable contribution is shareholder-funded, not paid for by PG&E customers.
The CFF’s Firefighters on Your Side program, also supported by PG&E, provides multilingual, culturally relevant fire safety messaging in both digital and print form, to assist the public in staying safe.
About The PG&E Corporation Foundation
The PG&E Corporation Foundation is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, separate from PG&E and sponsored by PG&E Corporation.
About PG&E
Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG), is a combined natural gas and electric utility serving more than 16 million people across 70,000 square miles in Northern and Central California. For more information, visit pge.com and pge.com/news.
About California Fire Foundation
The California Fire Foundation, a non-profit 501 (c)(3) organization, provides emotional and financial assistance to families of fallen firefighters, firefighters and the communities they protect. Formed in 1987 by California Professional Firefighters, the California Fire Foundation’s mandate includes an array of survivor and victim assistance projects and community initiatives. cafirefoundation.org
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SOURCE PG&E Corporation
