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Unprecedented wildfires are burning on federal lands used for summer grazing by livestock across California. As a result, ranchers and other stakeholders have concerns about proper livestock grazing policy and management for rangelands after fire. A typical approach to post-wildfire grazing policy is to issue a blanket requirement for two years of grazing cessation following a burn. Some have argued for longer rest time frames, while others argue for no rest to reduce weed invasion and suppress fuel accrual. However, there is little to no scientific data to support either proposal. Some research has been conducted on grazing after relatively low severity prescribed fire, but little research has addressed grazing impacts after wildfire which commonly burn with much greater severity and during different seasons compared to managed prescribed fires. Here we estimate recovery trajectories of existing wildfire burned areas and develop key indicators to assess rangeland readiness following fire using chronosequence methods. We surveyed 134 sites on 21 fires in northeast California that occurred within the last 17 years. After avoiding seeded or salvage logged areas, unburned areas, and overlapping fires, we account for the following variables: year from fire, grazing management, fire intensity, resistance/resilience classes, and broad vegetation communities. This research offers insight into how quickly rangeland health will recover and become ready to support livestock grazing without risk of long-term natural resource damage following wildfire.