Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Neptune to Launch a Creator-First, Customizable Algorithm Social Platform to Rival TikTok

15 hours ago

Kamala Harris Will Not Run for Governor of California in 2026

16 hours ago

Trump Pushes for Release of Epstein, Maxwell Grand Jury Testimony

17 hours ago

Trump Says US to Hit India With 25% Tariff Starting Friday

18 hours ago

Tariff Revenues Hit Record $150 Billion Amid Trump’s Trade Talks, Fox Business Reports

19 hours ago

Israeli Minister Hints at Annexing Parts of Gaza

20 hours ago

Fed Likely to Hold Rates Steady Despite Trump’s Push for Big Cuts

20 hours ago

What’s Behind California’s Frozen Housing Market?

2 days ago

Marjorie Taylor Greene Is First Republican Lawmaker to Call Gaza Crisis a ‘Genocide’

2 days ago
California Scrambles for More Firefighters Amid Pandemic
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 5 years ago on
July 10, 2020

Share

SACRAMENTO — As California enters wildfire season, the state is scrambling to find sufficient firefighters amid the coronavirus outbreak that has depleted the ranks of inmates who usually handle some of the toughest duties and caused a budget deficit that derailed plans to hire 600 new state firefighters and support personnel.
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday said the state would instead add 172 professional firefighters and he’ll use his emergency authority to beef up seasonal crews as the state enters another hot, dry summer when fires often rage out of control.

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday said the state would instead add 172 professional firefighters and he’ll use his emergency authority to beef up seasonal crews as the state enters another hot, dry summer when fires often rage out of control.
The threat from coronavirus already sidelined some of the firefighting hand crews that do what Newsom called “the really hard grunt work.” They typically include 15-17 inmates or civilian California Conservation Corps members who use hand tools and chainsaws to cut and scrape road-like clearings through trees and brush to stem the spread of wildfires.
Just 94 of the state’s 192 authorized inmate crews are available, “substantially down from where we’ve been in the past,” Newsom said, after the state was forced to temporarily quarantine 12 inmate firefighter camps last month. The state has also released thousands of inmates to create space during the pandemic and before that, as part of a plan to reduce incarceration for lower-level offenses.
In response, Newsom announced Thursday he will use $72.4 million to hire 858 additional seasonal firefighters and field six more California Conservation Corps crews through October. That’s sharply down from his pre-pandemic plan to spend $200 million to hire about 500 professional firefighters and 100 support staff. The budget he signed last week includes funding for the 172 permanent positions.
Tim Edwards, president of the union representing state firefighters, said even the 600 positions would merely have restored the state’s professional ranks to normal, but called the new hires “a very good start.”
The news comes as the state reported a record 149 virus-related deaths, although Newsom noted that some may be delayed reports. California’s death toll has now topped 6,700, with hospital admissions climbing 44% over the last two weeks, forcing state-ordered shutdowns of many businesses like bars and indoor restaurants that had just reopened.
[covid-19-tracker]

Officials Are Also Taking Steps to Prevent the Virus From Spreading Among Firefighters

For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms such as fever and cough. But for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death.
The Red Cross also put out a call Thursday for more fire season volunteers, saying the pandemic will make it hard to deploy trained disaster volunteers from other parts of the country if a major wildfire breaks out.
Red Cross and state officials say they hope to put evacuees in hotels when possible, but when shelters are needed they will add medical workers to conduct health screenings, sanitize shared living quarters and help with food distribution.
Officials are also taking steps to prevent the virus from spreading among firefighters, in part by keeping crew members together but physically separated from other teams.
“They will be considered a family unit” as they eat, sleep, travel and fight fires together, CalFire Chief Thom Porter said.
He said he doesn’t expect to field the full number of inmate crews anytime this year. But he hopes that by the height of the fall wildfire season the state can have about 155 crews operating, about the same as last year.
California is compensating in part by finding more bulldozers and boosting its air power with things such as three modern Black Hawk firefighting helicopters, one of which served as a backdrop for Newsom’s news conference.
Those aircraft can quickly dump water and retardant on and around small fires to help keep them from growing out of control, Porter said.
“We will make it happen,” Porter said. “We have the air fleet to do so.”

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Jet Crashes in Fresno County Field, Pilot Aided by EMS

DON'T MISS

Madera Man Sentenced to 34 Years to Life in Fresno Murder Case

DON'T MISS

High Noon Recalls Mislabeled Vodka Seltzers Shipped in Celsius Cans, NBC Reports

DON'T MISS

Wired Wednesday: New Fresno Ordinance Targets Vacant Blighted Properties

DON'T MISS

Fresno Unified Trustee Susan Wittrup Responds to $162,000 Payout

DON'T MISS

Visalia Suspect in Fatal Assault and Serial Sexual Battery Cases Arrested in Alaska

DON'T MISS

Canada Says It Intends to Recognize a Palestinian State in September

DON'T MISS

Dubai Nut Processor Aims for October Opening in Fresno: Dyer

DON'T MISS

Costa Blasts GOP Over Medi-Cal Cuts. His 2026 Opponent Defends Them

DON'T MISS

Trump Says US and Pakistan Have Concluded a Trade Deal

UP NEXT

California Under Tsunami Advisory After Magnitude 8.7 Earthquake

UP NEXT

As Trump Cuts Education, Candidates Line Up for California’s Top Schools Job

UP NEXT

What’s Behind California’s Frozen Housing Market?

UP NEXT

Marjorie Taylor Greene Is First Republican Lawmaker to Call Gaza Crisis a ‘Genocide’

UP NEXT

New Gallup Poll Reveals Most Immoral Behaviors In America

UP NEXT

What Does Trump Crackdown on Homelessness Mean for California?

UP NEXT

California Governor Candidate Stirs Outrage With Auschwitz ‘Unemployment Plan’ Post

UP NEXT

California May Soon Ban Selling New Glocks Like Kamala Harris Owns

UP NEXT

Trump Asks for Swift Deposition of Murdoch in Epstein Defamation Case

UP NEXT

California School Board Resigns After Audit Reveals $180M in Improper Funding

Wired Wednesday: New Fresno Ordinance Targets Vacant Blighted Properties

12 hours ago

Fresno Unified Trustee Susan Wittrup Responds to $162,000 Payout

12 hours ago

Visalia Suspect in Fatal Assault and Serial Sexual Battery Cases Arrested in Alaska

13 hours ago

Canada Says It Intends to Recognize a Palestinian State in September

13 hours ago

Dubai Nut Processor Aims for October Opening in Fresno: Dyer

13 hours ago

Costa Blasts GOP Over Medi-Cal Cuts. His 2026 Opponent Defends Them

14 hours ago

Trump Says US and Pakistan Have Concluded a Trade Deal

14 hours ago

Trump Imposes Scaled-Back Copper Tariff, US Prices Plunge

14 hours ago

Neptune to Launch a Creator-First, Customizable Algorithm Social Platform to Rival TikTok

15 hours ago

Kamala Harris Will Not Run for Governor of California in 2026

16 hours ago

Jet Crashes in Fresno County Field, Pilot Aided by EMS

Emergency crews responded Wednesday evening after a jet crashed into a field in Fresno County, authorities said. The crash was reported arou...

8 hours ago

8 hours ago

Jet Crashes in Fresno County Field, Pilot Aided by EMS

Lavale Vean Jr., 28, was sentenced Wednesday, July 30, 2025, to 34 years to life in prison for the 2017 murder of Roberto Ramos in Fresno. (Fresno County SO)
11 hours ago

Madera Man Sentenced to 34 Years to Life in Fresno Murder Case

High Noon has recalled some vodka seltzers after they were accidentally labeled as Celsius energy drinks and shipped to six states. (Shutterstock)
12 hours ago

High Noon Recalls Mislabeled Vodka Seltzers Shipped in Celsius Cans, NBC Reports

12 hours ago

Wired Wednesday: New Fresno Ordinance Targets Vacant Blighted Properties

Fresno Unified Susan Wittrup
12 hours ago

Fresno Unified Trustee Susan Wittrup Responds to $162,000 Payout

Adrian Hernandez Medrano, 20, accused in multiple sexual battery cases and a fatal assault in Visalia was arrested in Alaska, police said. (Visalia PD)
13 hours ago

Visalia Suspect in Fatal Assault and Serial Sexual Battery Cases Arrested in Alaska

Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks to journalists outside his office on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada June 30, 2025. (Reuters File)
13 hours ago

Canada Says It Intends to Recognize a Palestinian State in September

13 hours ago

Dubai Nut Processor Aims for October Opening in Fresno: Dyer

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend