As California faces a looming fire season with about 90 percent of the state in moderate to exceptional drought, the Director of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, Thom Porter, is concerned about the wildfire readiness of the agency.
Below is an excerpt from the Mendocino Voice, April 9, 2021:
“The operational concerns that I have are really in boots on the ground,” said Porter. “We’re fairly well staffed — on the wildland side of the department — at the engine company level, dozers are pretty good. We’re really good on aircraft and feeling better all the time on our aircraft program — but our hand crew capacity is really dismal.”
In the past, Cal Fire has had 190 prison crews available for the season. This year they have less than 70, according to Porter. Out of “So we’re somewhere between 30% to 40% capacity currently with the inmate program,” said Porter. “Not good.”
The prisoner crews, which Cal Fire usually refers to as the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) crews, have been slashed during COVID, as outbreaks have significantly shrunk training programs. “We’re well over 1000 [firefighters] short now,” said Porter. “That is the biggest vulnerability and as far as me, Thom Porter, director of Cal Fire, I’m concerned.” However, some of this gap in firefighter staffing may be filled with some $80 million that Governor Gavin Newsom has allocated to Cal Fire using emergency funds.
Could it be CA choose not to prosecute non violent low level crimes for the past year.
Don’t look now fire season is closing in. Is there such a thing as a normal fire season? In the last ten years it seems like the days of old are really behind us. What use to be a big fire (10,000 acres) in the ’60’s and 70’s has now become just a whiff of smoke in the rear view mirrors. Even in those days up through the early 2000’s by late August the CDF inmate fire crews were wore out; that was when all camps were open and fully staffed. “what are you going to do?” Do what you can and try not to get anyone hurt this summer. Maybe the State should put the Global Super Tanker on an immediate need contract? The Forest Service who now love the DC 10’s will probably have them committed out of State somewhere. What use to take a hand crew two operational periods to get a line around a fire today probably won’t get accomplished? Any Cal Fire crew (free or inmate) after three day on a fire productivity seems to diminish.
Look out this could mean a lot of FS crew supervisors will take the leap for better pay.