California To Boost Firefighter Numbers
Sacramento, CA — CA — Governor Gavin Newsom says he is taking emergency action to hire an additional 1,399 seasonal firefighters ahead of the dry summer months.
Newsom directed the spending of $80-million from the state’s Emergency Fund to hire the staff and to do additional fuel reduction work.
“In California, climate change is making the hots hotter and the dries drier, leaving us with world record-breaking temperatures and devastating wildfires threatening our communities,” said Governor Newsom. “We aren’t just waiting for the next crisis to hit. this funding will support our heroic firefighters to save lives as they work to prevent and tackle destructive wildfires.”
The move will also allow 119 firefighters to staff CAL Fire helitack operations earlier this year so that they are trained and operationally ready by May. This includes operations of the new S-70i helicopter to operate from four CAL Fire helitack bases.
Last year’s record-breaking fire season burned over 4.5 million acres.
