Governor Gavin Newsom designated September as Preparedness Month and highlighted California's multi-year investments in disaster response systems for earthquakes, extreme heat, wildfires, and flooding.
The Earthquake Warning California system, launched in 2019 and downloaded over 4.7 million times, issued alerts up to 35 seconds before ground shaking began during a 2024 Kern County earthquake. The state launched CalHeatScore in 2025 to provide ZIP code-level heat health risk information. For wildfires, California operates state-owned C-130H airtankers and launched three FireSat detection satellites in June 2026. An AI-powered camera network called ALERTCalifornia now includes over 1,200 cameras statewide and has detected more than 900 fires before 911 calls were placed.
California has significantly expanded its firefighting workforce over the past five years, adding an average of 1,800 full-time and 600 seasonal Cal Fire positions annually. Since January 2025, the state pre-deployed 1,132 fire engines, 154 water tenders, 80 helicopters, 142 pieces of heavy equipment, and more than 9,900 firefighters and support personnel to 41 counties across California.
Before a 2025 atmospheric river event, California pre-positioned more than 3.7 million sandbags and 162 flood-fighting containers across 25 counties. The state maintains a stockpile of more than 6.1 million sandbags, 400,000 tons of rock, and other materials at 70 locations statewide.
The state has invested over $150 million through its Ready California program since 2019, supporting more than 680 community organizations and reaching more than 16 million Californians across all 58 counties with preparedness training and resources. Since 2015, California also invested $300 million to help 1,614 nonprofits and places of worship strengthen security against violent attacks and hate crimes.