In this episode, we are joined by Steve Hawks, who has dedicated over three decades to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE). Steve's impressive career began as a firefighter and eventually led him to serve as the Assistant Deputy Director of CAL FIRE's Office of the State Fire Marshal's Community Wildfire Preparedness and Mitigation and Fire Engineering and Investigations Divisions. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Forest Resource Management from Humboldt State University and has served on various CAL FIRE Incident Management Teams for 13 years. After retiring in December 2022, Steve returned to the CAL FIRE – Office of the State Fire Marshal’s Community Wildfire Preparedness and Mitigation Division and has also taken on the role of Director of Wildfire Policy for the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS) team. During our conversation, Steve shares his insights on community wildfire preparedness and mitigation strategies, including defensible space home hardening, fuel reduction projects, grant funding, and other programs implemented by CAL FIRE's Community Wildfire Preparedness and Mitigation Division. He also provides a detailed analysis of the impacts of Assembly Bill 38 on homeowners living in high fire hazard zones, which mandates defensible space compliance inspections and proof of passing. Join us as we dive deep into the world of wildfire preparedness and mitigation with Steve Hawks. You can listen to the episode on our website, or on your favorite podcast platform, such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Google Podcasts. And don't forget to subscribe to our show and follow us on social media to stay up to date on all things wildfire. Thank you for your time and I hope you enjoy this episode.