AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 7, 2026
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION
98
Introduced by Committee on Emergency Management (Assembly Members Ransom (Chair), Bains, Bennett, and Calderon)
February 20, 2026
An act to amend Section 8586.7 of the Government Code, relating to wildfires.
Vote: majority Appropriation: no Fiscal committee: yes Local program: no
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST
Existing law, the California Emergency Services Act, requires the Office of Emergency Services and the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to jointly establish and lead the Wildfire Forecast and Threat Intelligence Integration Center, which serves as the state’s central organizing hub for, among other things, wildfire forecasting. Existing law requires the center to, among other things, provide specified intelligence and guidelines about wildfire threats to government agencies and designated alerting authorities.
Existing law authorizes the Governor to proclaim a state of emergency, and local officials and local governments to proclaim a local emergency, when specified conditions of disaster or extreme peril to the safety of persons and property exist, and authorizes the Governor or the appropriate local government to exercise certain powers in response to that emergency.
This bill would require the Wildfire Forecast and Threat Intelligence Integration Center to proactively recommend, based on extreme, life-threatening fire weather forecasts, whether a state of emergency or local emergency should be proclaimed, as specified. coordinate with the National Weather Service and the California State Warning Center to share forecasted extreme, life-threatening fire weather conditions to ensure wide distribution of information for all potentially impacted agencies.
The bill would require the Wildfire Forecast and Threat Intelligence Integration Center to create a written report that contains specified information analyzing forecasted extreme, life-threatening fire weather conditions and disseminate it to the California State Warning Center. The bill would require the California State Warning Center to proactively disseminate the report and related information to operational area duty officers and public safety answering points within the geography of an impacted area. The bill would authorize the proclamation of a state of emergency or local emergency based on the information contained in a report, as specified.
This bill would require the Wildfire Forecast and Threat Intelligence Integration Center to create and disseminate a training program for operational areas to interpret the analysis of the reports described above and educate the operational area emergency managers on the urgency, information, and potential actions to take upon receipt of a report.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 8586.7 of the Government Code is amended to read:
8586.7.
(a) (1) The office and the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection shall jointly establish and lead the Wildfire Forecast and Threat Intelligence Integration Center.
(2) The Wildfire Forecast and Threat Intelligence Integration Center’s primary mission shall be to collect, assess, and analyze fire weather data, atmospheric conditions, and other threat indicators that could lead to catastrophic wildfire and to reduce the likelihood and severity of wildfire incidents that could endanger the safety of persons, property, and the environment by developing and sharing intelligence products related to fire weather and fire threat conditions for government decisionmakers.
(3) The Wildfire Forecast and Threat Intelligence Integration Center shall serve as the state’s integrated central organizing hub for wildfire forecasting, weather information, and threat intelligence gathering, analysis, and dissemination, and shall also coordinate wildfire threat intelligence and data sharing among federal, state, and local agencies, tribal governments, utilities and other service providers, academic institutions, and nongovernmental organizations.
(b) (1) The Wildfire Forecast and Threat Intelligence Integration Center shall be comprised of representatives from the following organizations:
(A) The Office of Emergency Services.
(B) The Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
(C) The Public Utilities Commission.
(D) The Military Department.
(E) The University of California.
(F) The California State University.
(G) The California Utilities Emergency Association.
(H) At least one representative of investor-owned utility companies, appointed by the President of the Public Utilities Commission.
(I) At least one representative of publicly owned utilities, appointed jointly by the Director of Emergency Services and the Director of Forestry and Fire Protection.
(J) Other members as designated jointly by the Director of Emergency Services and the Director of Forestry and Fire Protection.
(2) The office and the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection may invite the following organizations to designate representatives to the Wildfire Forecast and Threat Intelligence Integration Center:
(A) The National Weather Service.
(B) The United States Forest Service.
(c) The Wildfire Forecast and Threat Intelligence Integration Center shall share intelligence and data relevant to wildfire threat, forecasting, detection, and prevention activities received from utility wildfire and emergency operations centers, partner academic institutions, private companies, and other sources in coordination with all of the following:
(1) The Northern California Geographic Area Coordination Center and the Southern California Geographic Area Coordination Center, inclusive of the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection’s predictive services unit.
(2) The California Wildland Fire Coordinating Group.
(3) The National Weather Service.
(4) The State Operations Center within the office.
(5) The California State Warning Center within the office.
(d) The Wildfire Forecast and Threat Intelligence Integration Center shall do all of the following:
(1) Provide intelligence and data in compliance with National Fire Danger Rating System standards and guidelines about wildfire threats to government agencies and designated alerting authorities, as that term is defined in paragraph (1) of subdivision (g) of Section 8594.16.
(2) Develop intelligence products for use by public and private sector entities engaged in wildfire risk mitigation efforts.
(3) Proactively coordinate with the National Weather Service and the California State Warning Center to share forecasted extreme, life-threatening fire weather conditions to ensure wide distribution of information for all potentially impacted agencies.
(4) (A) Create a written report analyzing any extreme, life-threatening fire weather conditions described in paragraph (3) and disseminate it to the California State Warning Center. The report shall contain, but shall not be limited to, all of the following:
(i) Whether the National Weather Service has issued a Particularly Dangerous Situation (PDS).
(ii) Whether the National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag Warning.
(iii) Wind speeds.
(iv) Relative humidity.
(v) Fuels status.
(vi) Narrative of the threat and recommended protective actions.
(vii) Geography of impacted area, including a list of counties.
(viii) Urgency and timeliness of action.
(B) The California State Warning Center shall proactively disseminate the report and related information to operational area duty officers and public safety answering points within the geography of an impacted area. Office of Emergency Services duty officers shall proactively make contact via phone, text, email, or radio with operational area duty officers when sharing the report.
(C) Based on information in the report, the Governor may proclaim a state of emergency pursuant to Section 8625 or a governing body of a city, county, or city and county may proclaim a local emergency pursuant to Section 8630.
(5) Create and disseminate, via the standardized emergency management system structure established pursuant to Section 8607, a training program for operational areas to interpret the analysis of the reports described in paragraph (4) and educate the operational area emergency managers on the urgency, information, and potential actions to take upon receipt of a report.
(e) The Wildfire Forecast and Threat Intelligence Integration Center shall develop a statewide wildfire forecast and threat intelligence strategy to improve how wildfire threats are identified, understood, and shared in order to reduce threats to California government, businesses, and consumers. The strategy shall strengthen wildfire emergency preparedness and response, standardize the implementation of environmental monitoring and assessment, enhance forecasting and detection capabilities, maximize the use of science and technology, and expand public knowledge and awareness of wildfire risks.
(f) The Wildfire Forecast and Threat Intelligence Integration Center shall be a signatory to the interagency California Fire Weather Annual Operating Plan.
(g) Information sharing by the Wildfire Forecast and Threat Intelligence Integration Center shall be conducted in a manner that protects and safeguards sensitive information, preserves business confidentiality, and enables public officials to detect, investigate, respond to, prevent, and recover from catastrophic wildfires that threaten public health and safety and economic stability.