Gov. Gavin Newsom is calling for the state to add hundreds of more firefighters to its largest force, Cal Fire, aiming to improve wildfire suppression.

The proposal to hire 677 more firefighters would boost Cal Fire’s capability to quickly respond to fires during peak seasons, according to the governor’s 2020-21 budget.

The budget says the permanent firefighter positions would be added over the next five years.

In addition to the firefighters, the budget sets aside $120 million more next year and $150 million per year moving forward to staff engines more robustly and improve readiness in other ways, according to the proposal.

California has a permanent force of about 6,000 firefighters. Newsom’s budget last year included 131 permanent new positions and 13 more engines, and he authorized hundreds of temporary hires for the season.

“While we have made improvements over the last three years, we simply don’t have enough boots on the ground with Cal Fire to successfully confront our new reality of mega fires,” Sen. Mike McGuire, D-Healdsburg, said in a statement praising Newsom’s proposal. “The governor’s proposal makes huge strides in changing this dynamic. This critical investment would put more firefighters in the field than we’ve had in four decades and it’s about damn time.”

California Professional Firefighters President Brian Rice praised the budget request.

“We commend Gov. Newsom’s quick action to address the state’s increasing wildfire risks. In the past two years alone, catastrophic fires have produced historic levels of death and destruction,” Rice said. “The Tubbs, Thomas, Carr, Mendocino Complex, Woolsey and Camp fires destroyed two million acres, tens of thousands of homes and caused more than 100 fatalities, including half a dozen firefighters.”

Cal Fire Local 2881, the union that represents state firefighters, has called for the state to increase hiring to improve responses and to take some of the pressure off firefighters who often spend weeks on fire lines, sometimes to the detriment of their mental health and their marriages.

The union has pointed out that while California faces its worst fire conditions ever, it remains below the peak staffing levels of 1975.

Newsom’s proposal says the relief staffing will “directly benefit employee health and wellness by providing a larger resource pool for the new normal fire conditions.”

This story was originally published January 10, 2020 at 1:28 PM.

Andrew Sheeler

The Tribune

916-326-5502

Andrew Sheeler covers California’s unique political climate for the Sacramento Bee. He has covered crime and politics from Interior Alaska to North Dakota’s oil patch to the rugged coast of southern Oregon. He attended the University of Alaska Fairbanks.