Governor Newsom announces new disaster intelligence satellites, opens modernized State Operations Center as Trump erodes national disaster readiness

Governor Newsom receives a briefing from Cal OES Director Caroline Thomas Jacobs and state emergency management leaders on California's Niño preparations in Mather.

What you need to know: Governor Newsom today announced California's new disaster intelligence satellite capability and opened a modernized State Operations Center to coordinate faster, smarter responses to disasters, as climate change intensifies threats and the Trump administration retreats from federal preparedness. With a potentially historic El Niño developing, the new technology and upgraded center strengthen the state's ability to protect lives, communities, critical infrastructure, and the economy before, during, and after emergencies.

MATHER - Governor Gavin Newsom today announced California's adoption of advanced satellite technology to deliver faster disaster intelligence statewide and the reopening of the State Operations Center at the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) in Mather, California, strengthening the state's ability to coordinate resources, support local communities, and protect Californians through increasingly complex disasters, including what is shaping up to be the strongest El Niño season on record.

Together, the new capabilities strengthen California's ability to identify disaster impacts, coordinate resources, and support communities before, during, and after emergencies. The investments are part of Governor Newsom and the Legislature's commitment to protect lives, communities, businesses, and critical infrastructure as climate change drives increasingly complex and destructive disasters.

Preparedness saves lives. It protects communities, keeps businesses open, and makes California stronger. The Golden State is connecting cutting-edge satellite intelligence with a modern command center on the ground so we can see danger sooner, move life-saving resources faster, and protect more people. As Trump walks away from disaster preparedness and climate science, California is stepping up to take action now. With a potentially historic El Niño taking shape, we are not waiting for storms to reach our doorstep.

Governor Gavin Newsom

During the unveiling of the new State Operations Center, the Governor received a briefing from state emergency response leaders on the early, proactive efforts already underway in preparations for the potentially historic El Niño developing in the Pacific.

"During an emergency, information has to move quickly and the people making decisions need a shared understanding of what is happening across the state," said Cal OES Director Caroline Thomas Jacobs. "This modernization brings our teams together in a space specifically designed for emergency operations - strengthening coordination, improving situational awareness and helping California move resources and support to communities faster." 

The briefing focused on actions underway after the Governor proclaimed a state of emergency in September, directing Cal OES to coordinate preparations for severe weather, flooding, coastal flooding, erosion, mud and debris flows, atmospheric rivers and related impacts.

B-roll package of the Governor's announcement can be downloaded here >>>

Modernized command center

The State Operations Center is California's central coordinating hub for public safety. Staffed by Cal OES and partners from across state government, it coordinates California's strategic response, maintains statewide situational awareness, and helps ensure continuity of government during emergencies.

The modernized State Operations Center gives those preparations a stronger coordinating hub. From Mather, state leaders can maintain a common operating picture, coordinate mutual aid, track local needs, and move personnel and equipment where they can do the most good.

The modernization replaces an aging facility that had not undergone a major renovation since opening in 2000. The project:

• Increased operational seating from 54 to 64 positions.
• Expanded second-floor workspace.
• Created an ADA-accessible, flat-floor operations space.
• Upgraded the State Warning Center.
• Replaced the aging technology wall.

The Governor and Legislature have also strengthened the workforce behind the facility by approving 73 permanent positions to establish a dedicated Incident Support Team and a deployable Incident Management Assistance Team. Those investments reduce reliance on employees temporarily redirected from other duties and give California a trained, standing workforce ready to operate the State Operations Center and regional emergency operations centers during all-hazard events.

New disaster intelligence satellites

Through an agreement with ICEYE, a satellite-imaging company that helps governments assess disaster damage from space, Cal OES is expanding its ability to receive near-real-time information on floods, wildfires, and other disasters, even through clouds, smoke, or darkness.

The technology can help emergency managers identify where flooding is occurring, estimate water depths, and assess potential damage to homes, roads, and critical infrastructure, including during periods of heavy cloud cover or severe weather.

The information will be integrated into California's statewide emergency operations and shared with state agencies and local emergency managers to help establish a common operating picture during significant storms. These capabilities can help officials more rapidly identify impacted communities, prioritize response resources, and begin assessing damage and recovery needs.

The technology is one component of California's broader preparations for the upcoming storm season. Ahead of the El Niño season, Cal OES is leading a whole-of-government preparedness effort and working with local emergency managers to assess readiness, identify potential resource needs, and prepare for hazards, including flooding, debris flows, high winds, and coastal impacts.

California steps up

California is expanding preparedness while President Trump proposes deep cuts that would shift greater costs and responsibilities to states and local governments. Trump's fiscal year 2027 budget proposes cutting FEMA by $1.3 billion - reducing state and local preparedness grants, and eliminating the Next Generation Warning System Grant Program, which supports emergency alerts and warnings, including in rural communities.

California is moving in the opposite direction: strengthening statewide coordination, expanding local partnerships and investing in the personnel and infrastructure needed to protect communities from increasingly severe disasters. The state has also demonstrated enough capacity to assist others without weakening readiness at home, deploying 3,482 personnel and 271 pieces of equipment since June to support wildfire, flood, and earthquake response across 13 states and two countries.

A growing threat

This fall and winter could be dangerous, and Californians should take forecasted extreme weather seriously. Federal forecasters say El Niño is strengthening, with a greater than 90% chance of a very strong event this fall and winter and a 75% chance it could reach historic strength. In plain terms, the Pacific is unusually warm, and that warmth can shift storm tracks and load the atmosphere with more energy over the months ahead.

For California, that can mean repeated rounds of heavy rain, strong winds, mountain snow, flooding, landslides, debris flows, large waves, and coastal flooding, especially when storms hit during very high tides. For families, that can mean roads closed by flooding or rockslides, power outages, neighborhoods cut off, damage to homes and businesses, and fast-changing conditions that leave little time to react.

That is why Governor Newsom is acting early, and why residents and homeowners should act now too: know their flood risk, clear drains and gutters, sign up for alerts, and make a plan before severe weather arrives.

What is El Niño?

El Niño refers to the periodic warming of sea surface temperatures in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Usually, the tropical western Pacific is warmer than the tropical eastern Pacific; in El Niño, however, this pattern reverses, and the eastern Pacific warms significantly. This changes circulation and precipitation patterns around the world. Although specific, localized impacts are unpredictable, El Niño often produces more frequent and intense storms over California. These storms can produce dangerous flooding, landslides, debris flows, erosion, and other dangerous impacts. This year, California has already experienced coastal flooding attributed to El Niño-as "Kelvin waves" raise sea levels and offshore Pacific hurricanes (fueled by warm water in the eastern Pacific) drive strong waves battering the California coast.

How Californians can prepare

El Niño does not guarantee a wet winter or any particular storm, but it heightens the risk of strong storms in California. Californians should prepare now for the possibility of heavy rain, snow, and flooding:

• Sign up for alerts. Get local emergency alerts here and follow trusted sources.

• Know your flood risk. Find out whether your home or workplace is in a flood-prone area or downslope of an area recently affected by wildfire, where heavy rain can increase the risk of flooding, debris flows, and mudslides.

• Stay informed. Pay attention to weather forecasts and sign up for emergency alerts from your city or county. Conditions can change quickly during major storms, so follow instructions from local emergency officials.

• Have an evacuation plan. Know where you would go and how you would get there if you need to leave quickly. Keep an emergency kit ready, including plans, medications, and supplies for pets and other animals.

• Never drive through floodwater. Water on flooded roads can be deeper and faster-moving than it appears, and roadways may be damaged or washed out beneath the water. Turn around and find another route.

Leading the world in emergency management innovations   

California continues investing in the tools that actually save lives and homes. Here's what that looks like in practice: 

• Real-time intel:  The first-in-the-nation Fire Integrated Real-Time Intelligence System (FIRIS), managed by Cal OES, provides real-time aerial intelligence, advanced fire mapping, and predictive analytics to support wildfire response for every California County. Flying over 2,000 missions since the start of the program in 2019, FIRIS, along with CAL FIRE's aerial intelligence platform, Intel 641, are critical assets to help identify real-time fire mapping within minutes of ignition.  

• Forecasting the threat:  California's Wildfire Forecast & Threat Intelligence Integration Center (WFTIIC) is a first-of-its-kind center serving as the state's central hub for coordinating wildfire forecasting, weather intelligence, and fire threat assessments. 

• New strike team strengthens Los Angeles response: Cal OES assigned five new Type-6 fire engines to the Los Angeles City Fire Department, forming a strike team that can respond quickly in both urban and wildland areas. Type-6 engines are the smallest, most maneuverable units in the state fleet - typically four-wheel drive, carrying 300 gallons of water, and designed to reach steep, narrow, or remote locations. The engines are state-owned and prepositioned with the Los Angeles Fire Department through California's Fire and Rescue Mutual Aid System. This means they can respond immediately to local incidents and deploy to other regions when mutual aid is requested. Cal OES manages a fleet of more than 270 state-owned fire engines assigned to over 60 local agencies statewide, ensuring every community can access coordinated emergency resources when disasters strike. Since 2019, Governor Newsom and the Legislature have invested in expanding and replacing these mutual aid engines to sustain all-hazards readiness across California. 

• Expanding the world's largest aerial firefighting fleet:  California became the first state in the nation to own, operate, and  deploy C-130H airtankers for wildfire suppression - and the fleet keeps growing. The state now operates  four, with a planned fleet of seven underway. These large-capacity aircraft deliver significant volumes of fire retardant in a single mission and will be stationed at CAL FIRE bases statewide, ready to mobilize alongside the state's helicopters, other aircraft, and firefighters.  

• Harnessing AI:  California is testing and researching new and innovative technologies to bolster firefighting and preventative operations. The use of AI-guided wildfire suppression drones will be beneficial in low-visibility conditions by providing extended aerial response capabilities when crewed aircraft cannot operate. The state is researching the use of AI-guided drones to improve extended supply deliveries during field and fire operations, thereby eliminating current modes of human or aircraft delivery in difficult and dangerous scenarios. 

• Early detection: CAL FIRE has collaborated with the Earth Fire Alliance on early adoption of wildfire detection satellites. The first three  FireSat wildfire detection satellites launched this past June from Vandenberg Space Force Base to give firefighters faster, more precise intelligence to spot fires earlier and protect

• Mapping wildfire risk:  Last year, California launched LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) three-dimensional maps of the entire state. LiDAR maps are the gold standard for finding forest and vegetation information, helping decision-makers get a clear picture of fuel loads and wildfire risks.  

• World's first redwood forest observatory: California installed the  first redwood forest observatory - two research towers in Jackson Demonstration State Forest that measure the inflow and outflow of carbon dioxide, water vapor, and energy between redwoods and their environment. The flux towers provide real-time insight into how redwoods respond to changing environmental conditions, wildfire, and management. Within the next year, aggregated measurements will be processed for public use.