Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

PBS and NPR Mount Last-Ditch Fight to Save Federal Funding

1 day ago

Netanyahu Under Mounting Political Pressure After Party Quits

1 day ago

Wall Street Opens Higher After Inflation, Bank Results

1 day ago

Sick of Loud Ads on Netflix? A Proposed California Law Turns Down the Volume

2 days ago

Record Numbers of Americans Say Immigration Is Good for Country: Gallup Poll

2 days ago

In California Strawberry Fields, Immigration Raids Sow Fear

2 days ago

Newsom’s Office Attacks Stephen Miller, Calling Him a ‘Fascist Cuck’

2 days ago

Trump’s Spending Bill Will Likely Boost Costs for Insurers, Shrink Medicaid Coverage

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

Madera County Launches New Team to Tackle Homelessness, Mental Health Crises

DON'T MISS

US Senate Pushes Toward Aid, Public Broadcasting Cuts Sought by Trump

DON'T MISS

Authorities Seek Answers After Man Found Dead Near Rural Fresno County Road

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Lifts Evacuation Order for Max Fire Near Pine Flat Lake

DON'T MISS

Newsom Calls Trump a ‘Son of a B***h’ Over ICE Raids and Guard Deployment

DON'T MISS

Governors Should Be the Face of the Democratic Party

DON'T MISS

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Ryan Joseph Enos

DON'T MISS

A New Invader Threatens California Water Supplies. Can State Stop Its Spread? 

DON'T MISS

Trump Indicated to Republican Lawmakers He Will Fire Fed’s Powell, CBS Reports

DON'T MISS

Bahrain to Announce $17 Billion in US Deals During Trump Talks

UP NEXT

A New Invader Threatens California Water Supplies. Can State Stop Its Spread? 

UP NEXT

Open Mic Contest Offers Fans a Chance to Perform at Outside Lands 2025

UP NEXT

Age Is Just a Number: 80-Year-Old Conquers Death Valley to Mt. Whitney Ultramarathon

UP NEXT

US Military to Remove 2,000 National Guard Troops From Los Angeles

UP NEXT

Trump Says Democratic Rival Schiff Should Be ‘Brought to Justice’ for Alleged Fraud

UP NEXT

Is US Democracy Threatened? Majority of Californians, Including Republicans, Say Yes

UP NEXT

US Senator Seeks Safety Reforms After Fatal Collision Between Army Helicopter, Regional Jet

UP NEXT

PBS and NPR Mount Last-Ditch Fight to Save Federal Funding

UP NEXT

Heinous, Heartbreaking, Expensive: California Schools Face Avalanche of Sex Abuse Claims

UP NEXT

Elmo’s X Account Gets Hacked, Posts Antisemitic and Racist Messages

US Senate Pushes Toward Aid, Public Broadcasting Cuts Sought by Trump

54 minutes ago

Authorities Seek Answers After Man Found Dead Near Rural Fresno County Road

1 hour ago

Fresno County Lifts Evacuation Order for Max Fire Near Pine Flat Lake

1 hour ago

Newsom Calls Trump a ‘Son of a B***h’ Over ICE Raids and Guard Deployment

2 hours ago

Governors Should Be the Face of the Democratic Party

2 hours ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Ryan Joseph Enos

2 hours ago

A New Invader Threatens California Water Supplies. Can State Stop Its Spread? 

3 hours ago

Trump Indicated to Republican Lawmakers He Will Fire Fed’s Powell, CBS Reports

3 hours ago

Bahrain to Announce $17 Billion in US Deals During Trump Talks

3 hours ago

Wall Street Steadies as Investors Assess Inflation Data, Earnings

3 hours ago

Fresno Fire Destroys Vacant Building on Blackstone Avenue

A fire tore through a vacant building on the 1400 block of North Blackstone Avenue late Tuesday night, leaving the structure a total loss, a...

6 minutes ago

A vacant building on North Blackstone Avenue in Fresno was destroyed by fire Tuesday, July 15, 2025, night, though firefighters prevented it from spreading to nearby structures. (Fresno FD)
6 minutes ago

Fresno Fire Destroys Vacant Building on Blackstone Avenue

A general view of the U.S. Capitol dome in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 8, 2025. (Reuters/Jonathan Ernst)
16 minutes ago

US House Clears Procedural Hurdle on Cryptocurrency Legislation

Madera County has launched H.E.A.R.T Madera, a multi-agency team focused on compassionate outreach and crisis intervention for people experiencing homelessness and behavioral health challenges. (Shutterstock)
35 minutes ago

Madera County Launches New Team to Tackle Homelessness, Mental Health Crises

U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) walks to the Senate floor as Republican lawmakers struggle to pass U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping spending and tax bill, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 1, 2025. (Reuters File)
54 minutes ago

US Senate Pushes Toward Aid, Public Broadcasting Cuts Sought by Trump

Billy Wayne Sinisgalli, a 54-year-old transient known locally as Wayne, was found dead along a rural Fresno road Wednesday in what authorities are investigating as a suspicious death. (Fresno County SO)
1 hour ago

Authorities Seek Answers After Man Found Dead Near Rural Fresno County Road

Fresno County officials have lifted the evacuation order for the Max Fire near Pine Flat Lake, though the 426-acre blaze remains just 20% contained. (CalFire)
1 hour ago

Fresno County Lifts Evacuation Order for Max Fire Near Pine Flat Lake

California Governor Gavin Newsom gestures while speaking, as he announces the Golden State Literacy Plan and deployment of literacy coaches statewide, at the Clinton Elementary School in Compton, California, U.S. June 5, 2025. REUTERS/Daniel Cole/File Photo
2 hours ago

Newsom Calls Trump a ‘Son of a B***h’ Over ICE Raids and Guard Deployment

Portrait of Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly
2 hours ago

Governors Should Be the Face of the Democratic Party

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

Search

Send this to a friend