California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
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|
Rescues 184 | | |
Ambulances | 63 paramedic units | |
---|---|---|
HAZMAT | 9 | |
Bulldozers | 61 | |
Airplanes | 30 air tankers 16 tactical planes | |
Helicopters | 24 | |
Website | ||
calfire.ca.gov |
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE)[2][3] is the fire department of the California Natural Resources Agency in the U.S. state of California. It is responsible for fire protection in various areas under state responsibility totaling 31 million acres, as well as the administration of the state's private and public forests. In addition, the department provides varied emergency services in 36 of the state's 58 counties via contracts with local governments. The department's current director is Joe Tyler, who was appointed March 4, 2022, by Governor of California Gavin Newsom.[4]
Operations
CAL FIRE's foremost operational role is to fight and prevent wildfire on 31 million acres of state forestland. The organization works in both suppression and prevention capacities on state land, and offers emergency services of various kinds in 36 out of California's 58 counties, through contracts with local governments. The organization also assists in response to a wide range of disasters and incidents, including earthquakes, water rescues, and hazardous material spills. The organization manages eight Demonstration State Forests for timber production, recreation, and research. [5]
In conjunction with the
Organizational structure
The largest and most visible part of CAL FIRE operations is fire protection. Operations are divided into 21 operational units, which geographically follow county lines. Each unit consists of the area of one or more counties. Operational units are grouped under either the North Region or South Region.[7]
The Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM) is the CAL FIRE program that protects life and property through the development and application of fire prevention, engineering, training and education, and enforcement. As part of this mission, OSFM establishes a fire-safe environment for the people of California, which serves as a foundation for local agencies to build on as they strive to meet their specific goals.[citation needed]
There are two CAL FIRE training centers. The original academy is the CAL FIRE Training Center in Ione, east of Sacramento. The second academy is at the Ben Clark Training Center in Riverside. Both centers host the Fire Fighter Academy (FFA). All CAL FIRE Fire Protection employees go through this academy once they become permanent employees. The Company Officer Academy (COA) is only held in Ione. All new company officers (Engineer, Captain, Forester I, etc.) attend this academy.[citation needed]
Rank structure
Leadership
The uniformed executive staff of CAL FIRE includes the following individuals.[8]
- Director: Joe Tyler
- Chief Deputy Director: Anale Burlew
- State Fire Marshal: Daniel Berlant
- Assistant State Fire Marshal: Wendy Collins
- Deputy Director, Communications/Incident Awareness: Nick Schuler
- Southern Region Chief: Dave Fulcher
- Northern Region Chief: George Morris III
- Deputy Director, Resource Management: Matthew Reischman
- Deputy Director, Cooperative Fire Protection: Matthew Sully
- Deputy Director, Fire Protection Programs: Jake Sjolund
- Deputy Director, Community Wildfire Preparedness & Mitigation and Fire Engineering & Investigations Division: Frank Bigelow
Pay
As of 2017, median pay for full time firefighters (which includes base pay, special pay, overtime and benefits) is $148,000.[9]
Representation
Firefighters employed by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection are represented by IAFF affiliate, CAL FIRE Local 2881,
Operational units
Operational units are organizations designed to address fire suppression over a geographic area. They vary widely in size and terrain.
For example, Lassen-Modoc-Plumas Operational Unit encompasses three
Riverside Operational Unit by itself is one of the largest fire departments in the nation, with 95 fire stations and about 230 pieces of equipment. The Riverside Operational Unit operates the
The counties of Marin (MRN), Kern (KRN), Santa Barbara (SBC), Ventura (VNC), Los Angeles (LAC) and Orange (ORC) are paid by CAL FIRE to provide fire protection to state responsibility areas within those counties rather than CAL FIRE providing direct fire protection, and are commonly known as the "Contract Counties".[15][16][17]
Lawmakers in Sacramento have mandated that every operational unit develop and implement an annual fire management plan. The plan will develop cooperation and community programs to reduce damage from, and costs of, fires in California.[18] One metric used by fire suppression units is initial attack success: fires stopped by the initial resources, (equipment and people,) sent to the incident.[19]
Northern Region units and identifiers
- Amador-El Dorado Unit – AEU / 2700 (Including Sacramento and Alpine Counties)
- Butte Unit – BTU / 2100
- Humboldt-Del Norte Unit – HUU / 1200
- Lassen-Modoc-Plumas Unit – LMU / 2200 (Including Plumas County as of June 2008)
- Mendocino Unit – MEU / 1100
- Nevada-Yuba-Placer Unit – NEU / 2300 (Including Sutter and Sierra Counties)
- San Mateo-Santa Cruz Unit – CZU / 1700
- Santa Clara Unit – SCU / 1600 (Including Contra Costa, Alameda, Santa Clara, and parts of San Joaquin, and Stanislaus Counties)
- Shasta-Trinity Unit – SHU / 2400
- Siskiyou Unit – SKU / 2600
- Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit – LNU / 1400 (Including: Solano, Yolo, Colusa Counties)
- Tehama-Glenn Unit – TGU / 2500
Southern Region units and identifiers
- Fresno-Kings Unit – FKU / 4300
- Madera-Mariposa-Merced Unit – MMU / 4200
- Riverside Unit – RRU / 3100
- San Benito-Monterey Unit – BEU / 4600
- San Bernardino Unit – BDU / 3500 (Including Inyo and Mono Counties)
- San Diego Unit – SDU / 3300 (Including Imperial County)
- San Luis Obispo Unit – SLU / 3400
- Tulare Unit – TUU / 4100
- Tuolumne-Calaveras Unit – TCU / 4400 (Including portions of San Joaquin, Stanislaus, and Alpine counties)
Equipment
Apparatus
CAL FIRE uses various apparatus to accomplish their daily responses. Engines fall under two categories, either being state-owned — mostly wildland, or city/county owned, which CAL FIRE operates under contract.[20]
For the wildland portion, most engines are manufactured with West-Mark or Westates (now American Truck & Fire Apparatus) bodies on an
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Type-3 Wildland Engine, CAL FIRE Model 14
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Type-3 Wildland Engine, CAL FIRE Model 5
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Type-3 Wildland Engine, CAL FIRE Model 24
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Smeal Type-1 Municipal Engine, owned by San Luis Obispo County and operated by CAL FIRE under contract
Air program
CAL FIRE owns its own fleet of air tankers, tactical aircraft and helicopters, which are managed under the Aviation Management Program. Additional aviation resources are leased by the department when needed. All of the fixed wing aircraft, while owned by CAL FIRE, are piloted and maintained by DynCorp International. The CAL FIRE Air Program is one of the largest non-military air programs in the country, consisting of twenty-three (23)
Aircraft are a prominent feature of CAL FIRE, especially during the summer fire season. Both fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft are employed.[24] Helicopters (also known as rotorcraft or rotary wing aircraft) are used to transport firefighting "Helitack Crews" into fire areas. They also drop water and retardant chemicals on fires. Fixed-wing aircraft are used for command, observation, and to drop retardant chemicals on fires.[25]
CAL FIRE contracted in the past with
On October 7, 2014, a CAL FIRE S-2T air tanker crashed while fighting the Dog Rock Fire in Yosemite National Park. The pilot was killed.[27]
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Tanker 910 during a drop demonstration in December, 2006
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CAL FIRE "Super Huey", formerly an UH-1H, assigned to the Bieber Helitack crew, takes off from the Mojave Airport
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CAL FIRE OV-10 Bronco "Air Attack 460" at Fox Field during the October 2007 California wildfires
Communications
CAL FIRE uses several enterprise IT systems to manage operations. Altaris CAD, a
In popular culture
Fire Country is an American drama television series in which a young convict volunteers for the Conservation Camp Program and assists Cal Fire.[29]
See also
- California Conservation Corps
- California Department of Parks and Recreation
- FIRESCOPE
References
- ^ a b CAL FIRE. "CAL FIRE at a Glance" (PDF). CAL FIRE. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-03-29. Retrieved 2020-03-29.
- ^ Shoop, Chelsey (2007-01-02). "CDF changes its name to CAL-FIRE". Paradise Post. Retrieved 2022-12-06.
- ^ "Cal Fire: What's in a Name?" (PDF). Cal Fire. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-12-10. Retrieved 2017-12-09.
- ^ California, State of. "Cal Fire – Executive Staff". Cal Fire. Retrieved 2022-03-22.
- ^ "CAL FIRE About Us". Retrieved 1 July 2021.
- ^ State of California 1998 Telephone Directory, (Sacramento: State of California, Department of General Services).
- ^ "Cal Fire Contacts | CAL FIRE". www.fire.ca.gov. Retrieved 2023-12-07.
- ^ California, State of. "CAL FIRE – Executive Staff". calfire.ca.gov. Retrieved 2023-11-14.
- ^ Weil, Elizabeth (2020-08-28). "They Know How to Prevent Megafires. Why Won't Anybody Listen?". ProPublica.
As the California Policy Center reported in 2017, "The median compensation package — including base pay, special pay, overtime and benefits — for full time Cal Fire firefighters of all categories is more than $148,000 a year."
- ^ CDF Firefighters
- ^ CPF – Home
- ^ Welcome to IAFF online Archived 2008-03-06 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Henson, C., Lassen-Modoc-Plumas Unit 2005 Fire Management Plan, (Susanville, California: State of California, Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, 2005).
- ^ Gilbert, M., Riverside Unit 2005 Fire Management Plan, Perris, California: State of California, Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, 2005.
- ^ "Resources | CAL FIRE". www.fire.ca.gov. Retrieved 2023-10-05.
- ^ "Cooperative Efforts | CAL FIRE". www.fire.ca.gov. Retrieved 2023-10-05.
- ^ "Cal Fire Contract County Services - Santa Barbara County Fire Department". 2022-07-13. Retrieved 2023-10-05.
- ^ California Public Resources Code, Sec. 4130.
- ^ Gilbert, M., Riverside Unit 2005 Fire Management Plan, Perris, California: State of California, Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, 2005); California Public Resources Code, Sec. 4130.
- ^ "Equipment Programs | CAL FIRE". www.fire.ca.gov. Retrieved 2023-10-05.
- ^ "Mobile Equipment | CAL FIRE".
- ^ "Aviation Program". www.fire.ca.gov.
- ^ Air Program at the Wayback Machine (archived 2013-01-24)
- ^ Hemet-Ryan AAB Capital Outlay Project: Relocation Or Replacement Analysis, (Sacramento: State of California, Department Of General Services, Real Estate Services Division, Project Management Branch, 2005).
- ^ a b Fraser, Debbie, CDF Training and Academy Course Catalog, March 2006, (Ione, California: State of California, Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, 2006).
- ^ ""Supertanker ready for summer of fighting California's fires", Inland Wildfires, June 14, 2007, accessed August 6, 2007". Archived from the original on September 26, 2007. Retrieved August 18, 2007.
- KOVR-TV, October 7, 2014
- ^ Santa Clara Unit 2005 Fire Management Plan, Morgan Hill, California: State of California, Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, 2005).
- ^ Rogers, Nate (November 4, 2022). "'Fire Country,' a new show about Cal Fire, is a hit. Just not with Cal Fire". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2022-11-09.
External links
Media related to California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection at Wikimedia Commons