CELPC Conference: Wildfire Resilience

A firefighter in protective gear works near a wildfire in a grassy field.

Friday, Feb. 13, 2026 | King Hall, Room 1001 | MCLE Credits Available
 

Recordings:

Flyer

In the past 25 years, California has experienced the largest and deadliest wildfires in its history, and climate change will further heighten fire risks. Legal and policy responses to make California wildfire resilient include new approaches to landscape management, utility regulation to reduce fire risk, wildfire resiliency projects, and steps to address the aftermath of mega-fires. UC Davis School of Law’s California Environmental Law and Policy Center invites you to join this engaging discussion of lessons learned from the past and future directions in the modern fire regime. 

Agenda

8:30–9 a.m.
Coffee & Pastries

9–9:15 a.m.
Welcome and Opening Remarks
UC Davis Law Senior Associate Dean Donna Shestowsky
Tracy Winsor, Co-Director, CELPC, UC Davis School of Law

9:15–9:55 a.m.
Keynote Speaker
Scott Stephens, Professor of Fire Science and Forest Policy, ESPM Department, UC Berkeley

10–11:15 a.m.
Beneficial Fire
California’s fire-adapted landscapes need fire to thrive. This panel will be a conversation among experienced practitioners and attorneys about advancements and challenges to cultural and prescribed burning. Topics will include liability and the Prescribed Fire Liability Claims Fund, community-building and social considerations, and Tribal stewardship.

Panelists: 

  • Sara Clark, Partner, Shute Mihaly & Weinberger LLP
  • Don Hankins, Professor of Geography and Environmental Studies, California State University, Chico
  • Lenya Quinn-Davidson, Fire Network Director, UC Agriculture and Natural Resources
  • Jamie Sammut, Senior Staff Counsel, CAL FIRE 

11:15–11:30 a.m.
Morning Break

11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
SB 254 and Creating a Modern Framework for Wildfire Resiliency
Senate Bill 254, signed into law this past September, has been described as California’s most ambitious energy affordability bill in decades. It enhanced the Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety’s role in reviewing utility wildfire mitigation plans, established a Continuation Account to extend the Wildfire Fund, and directs the California Earthquake Authority to oversee the preparation of a report related to the economics of the climate crisis.  The report, due to the Legislature and the Governor on April 1 of this year, will analyze and help to eventually develop long-term reforms that protect access to insurance, reduce litigation costs, provide fair and expeditious compensation to claimants, support wildfire mitigation, safety, and community resilience, and ensure large electrical corporations are accountable for safety and also have the financial health to attract low-cost capital on behalf of ratepayers.

Moderator: Heather Leslie, Chief Counsel, Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety

Panelists: 

  • Tony Marino, Deputy Director of Energy, Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety
  • Tom Welsh, Chief Executive Officer, California Earthquake Authority (Administrator of the California Wildfire Fund)

12:30–1 p.m.
Lunch Break

1–1:40 p.m.
Lunch Keynote
Deputy Director Frank Bigelow, CAL FIRE, Office of the State Fire Marshal

1:45–2:45 p.m. 
Proposition 4’s Proactive Approach
Prop 4 dedicated $1.5 billion in funding to thinning overgrown forests and clearing vegetation to reduce fuel, especially in communities at high risk. Projects will focus on restoring forests to a healthier state, including the restoration of coast redwood and giant sequoia forests. Funding is available to help homeowners harden their properties against wildfire damage and create defensible space around their homes.

Panelists: 

  • Dave Jones, Director, Climate Risk Initiative, Center for Law, Energy & the Environment, UC Berkeley School of Law/Insurance Commissioner, Emeritus
  • Tina Andolina, Chief of Staff Office of Senator Ben Allen
  • Paul Mason, Vice President for Policy and Incentives, Pacific Forest Trust
  • Michael Wara, Senior Research Scholar at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment 

2:45–3 p.m.
Afternoon Break

3–4:15 p.m.
Addressing the Aftermath of Mega Fires: Infrastructure Damages, Cleanup, and Other Emergency Response Costs
The destruction caused by modern wildfires presents a host of urgent needs and challenges. The panel will discuss the roles of the Office of Emergency Services and California Environmental Protection Agency and some of its Boards, Departments, and Organizations in the wake of wildfires, hazards presented after these fires, and considerations that follow in making sure communities are safe and have resources to recover. Panelists will also discuss legal issues presented in litigation regarding responsibility for, and recovery of, the costs incurred by public entities as a result of these fires.

Moderator: Mike Cayaban, Supervising Deputy Attorney General, Natural Resources Section, California Department of Justice

Panelists:

  • Phil Hoos, Deputy Attorney General, Natural Resources Section, California Department of Justice
  • Alana Mathews, Deputy Secretary of Law Enforcement & General Counsel, California Environmental Protection Agency
  • David Neill, Chief Counsel, Office of Emergency Services
  • Frank Weirich, Associate Professor, Earth and Environmental Sciences; Associate Research Engineer, University of Iowa

4:15–6 p.m.
Reception in King Hall Courtyard

Questions? Email us.