More than $1 million in grants, public education, and outreach funded in 2026; applications accepted June 8–July 8
OAKLAND, Calif. — With the peak wildfire season approaching in Northern and Central California, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) and the California Fire Foundation (CFF) are accepting applications for grants to support wildfire safety, prevention, and emergency preparedness. Applications must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. on July 8, 2026, through the CFF website. Award notifications will begin August 10, 2026.
The grant program continues a nine-year collaboration between PG&E and CFF. PG&E and the PG&E Corporation Foundation (PG&E Foundation) are contributing a total of $1.8 million to CFF’s Wildland Fire Safety and Preparedness Program (WSPP). The program continues to promote public awareness of wildfire safety and provide resources to underserved communities in high-risk fire areas.
Last year, as part of the WSPP, PG&E and CFF awarded $950,000 in competitive grants to 63 local fire departments and community groups. This year, the funding has been increased to $1 million in grants.
In 2025, grants supported the following initiatives:
- Acquisition of approximately 1,500 items of personal protective equipment, including helmets, boots, gloves, goggles, and fire shelters
- Removal of more than 33 million square feet of hazardous trees and shrubs
- Shuttering and hauling of 3 million pounds of branches and other combustible materials
- Conducting 49 controlled burns or pile burns as forest management
The full 2025 WSPP report and video summary are available on the CFF website.
“Preparedness plays a critical role in protecting California communities from the growing threat of wildfires,” said Angie Carmignani, executive director of the California Fire Foundation. “The Wildland Fire Safety and Preparedness Program (WSPP) helps strengthen local wildfire prevention and preparedness efforts by supporting fire agencies with essential grants for specialized firefighting equipment, vegetation management and fuel reduction work, and the procurement of personal protective equipment. CFF’s continued collaboration with PG&E since 2018 has been critical in ensuring that the agencies that need them have the necessary resources and that our communities remain informed, prepared, and resilient year-round.”
Since 2018, CFF—which administers and manages the program—has awarded 431 grants to fire departments and community organizations across the state, focusing its efforts on PG&E’s service area in Northern and Central California. The funding aims to serve communities identified by the California Public Utilities Commission as being at extreme or high risk of wildfire.
“For nine years, PG&E has partnered with the California Fire Foundation to support the Wildfire Safety and Preparedness Program (WSPP),” said Andy Abranches, PG&E’s Vice President of Wildfire Mitigation. “These grants, which provide essential safety equipment and fund projects that reduce the risk of out-of-control wildfires, reflect our shared, long-term commitment to keeping our cities safe.”
How Grants Help Communities
From 2018 to the present, PG&E and the PG&E Foundation have awarded a total of $12.25 million in support of fire safety awareness through the WSPP. These charitable donations are paid for by PG&E shareholders, not PG&E customers.
Since 2018, the WSPP has funded the following:
- Specialized firefighting equipment and personal protective equipment
- Defensible space creation and vegetation management work
- Combustible material and hazard reduction programs
- Fire prevention and emergency preparedness education, including wildfire preparedness programs for seniors
- Collaboration with community groups in high-risk fire areas to distribute fire safety information
- Fire safety outreach campaigns, including 12,000 multilingual brochures targeting underserved communities in English, Spanish, Chinese, Hmong, and Vietnamese
The program develops and distributes fire safety messages in multiple languages, targeting Hispanic, Chinese, Hmong, and Vietnamese communities. This work includes a comprehensive media campaign consisting of billboards and advertisements on television, radio, and digital media in the target languages.
The California Fire Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that supports firefighters, their families, and the communities they protect. The CFF’s Firefighters on Your Side program, also supported by PG&E, provides multilingual and culturally relevant fire safety messages in both digital and print formats to help the public stay safe.
About PG&E
Pacific Gas and Electric Company: A subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE: PCG), PG&E is a combined natural gas and electric utility serving more than 216 million people across 70,000 square miles in Northern and Central California. For more information, visit pge.com and pge.com/news.
About the PG&E Corporation Foundation:
The PG&E Corporation Foundation is an independent, non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, separate from PG&E and sponsored by PG&E Corporation.
About the California Firefighters Foundation:
The California Firefighters Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides emotional and financial assistance to the families of fallen firefighters, firefighters, and the communities they protect. Established in 1987 by the California Professional Firefighters, the California Firefighters Foundation’s mandate includes a range of survivor and casualty assistance projects, as well as community outreach initiatives.
