California legislators announced a 13-bill wildfire prevention package Wednesday aimed at addressing the state's escalating megafire crisis through home hardening, beneficial fire programs and new firefighting technologies.

The joint legislative effort, unveiled by Megafire Action and a group of lawmakers, comes as communities devastated by recent wildfires continue struggling to recover.

Sen. Ben Allen, who represents the Pacific Palisades and Malibu communities devastated by wildfires last January, described the ongoing hardship facing his constituents.

"Tens of thousands of families remain displaced from their homes. They're fighting with their insurance for days on end and picking up their entire lives," Allen said. "They're moving from place to place, trying to figure out where to relocate their kids. Some of them have had to move several times over, even over the course of the past year, because of all the instability."

Allen said many residents remain uncertain whether they can return to their communities because of the backbreaking costs of rebuilding. Beyond current insurance battles, he said constituents worry about future coverage.

"They're also worried about rebuilding just to have no insurance available to them in the end, which would then continue to make it so that living is unaffordable," Allen said.

The legislative package addresses wildfire resilience on three fronts: expanding beneficial fire to restore landscapes, providing homeowners with resources for defensible space and home hardening, and accelerating adoption of new firefighting technologies.

Eric Horne, director of California Megafire Action, framed the effort as both a tribute and a commitment.

"We honor the victims and survivors of the Los Angeles wildfires and countless other conflagrations, not only by helping communities recover, but by committing ourselves to make government work better for Californians before disaster strikes," Horne said.

Allen is sponsoring SB 894, which would establish the California Wildfire Resilience Loan Program modeled after the state's existing Go Green Energy Financing Program. The measure would help property owners finance upgrades including roofing, windows, siding and vegetation screens on vents.

"Home hardening and fire mitigation retrofitting is not cheap, and the high costs end up preventing a lot of people from making these needed structural improvements," Allen said.

He noted that home hardening investments can reduce a structure's fire risk by over 35 percent.