Rep. Gallagher, Rep. Thompson Introduce the CLUSTER Act to Protect Communities Against Wildfires

August 5, 2026
Press Release

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Representatives James Gallagher (CA-01) and Mike Thompson (CA-04) today introduced the Community-Level Upgrades for Safer, Threat-Resistant Homes (CLUSTER) Act, bipartisan legislation to help communities better protect neighborhoods from catastrophic wildfires by expanding access to FEMA hazard mitigation funding.

The CLUSTER Act updates FEMA's Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) to allow communities to pursue coordinated home-hardening projects that protect entire neighborhoods, helping local governments reduce wildfire risk while streamlining the application process for mitigation funding.

"Wildfires don't just destroy individual homes. They devastate entire neighborhoods," said Congressman Gallagher. "The CLUSTER Act gives communities the tools they need to harden multiple homes at once, cut through unnecessary red tape, and pursue the most effective mitigation strategies available. By making it easier to protect neighborhoods before disaster strikes, we can save homes, reduce recovery costs, and better protect the communities we serve."

"Our rural and high-risk communities need streamlined, neighborhood-scale support to defend against devastating wildfires," said Congressman Thompson. "The CLUSTER Act addresses this need. Our bipartisan bill modernizes disaster programs so entire neighborhoods can receive home-hardening grants together, allowing for coordinated, block-by-block protection from wildfires rather than fragmented, single-structure projects." 

BACKGROUND

California continues to experience some of the nation's most destructive wildfires, and community-scale home hardening has become an increasingly important strategy for protecting lives and property. While FEMA's Hazard Mitigation Grant Program can fund mitigation projects following a presidential disaster declaration, current law primarily supports single-home retrofits or large public infrastructure projects, making it difficult for communities to implement coordinated neighborhood-scale mitigation efforts.

The CLUSTER Act would modernize the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program by:

  • Allowing FEMA to fund coordinated community- or neighborhood-level home-hardening projects rather than limiting assistance to individual residences.
  • Reducing administrative burdens by allowing local governments to submit a single coordinated application instead of numerous individual projects.
  • Supporting proven wildfire mitigation measures, including ember-resistant vents, Class A roofs, defensible-space treatments, and fire-resistant building materials.
  • Helping communities better prepare for future wildfires by encouraging proactive investments that reduce structure loss and improve resilience. 

Read the full text here.