November 2024

New Dashboard Demonstrates Effectiveness of Fuels Projects in Helping Fight Wildfire 

Introducing the new CAL FIRE Fuels Treatment Effectiveness Reporting Dashboard. Fuels treatment projects have been instrumental in 2024 in helping to contain some of the most well-known fires in California as well as many small fires that never make the news. But how? The interactive dashboard allows users to see where fuels treatment projects have been effective in firefighting efforts in a map view while also viewing written and video reports. Check out the map by following the link below to learn more. 

What Do Wildland Firefighters Carry in the Field?

Have you ever wondered what wildland firefighters carry in the field? Firefighter II Paramedic Derrick Tarin discusses how many feet of a firehose wildland firefighters put on their backs and answers the question of how much weight firefighters carry overall.  

Getting Elevated: Air Rescue Training with Boggs Mountain Helitack

Ride along with the CAL FIRE Boggs Mountain Helitack crew on a recent air rescue training operation. The CAL FIRE HAWK, a Sikorsky S70i firefighting helicopter, is equipped with an external hoist for rescue missions. This specialized rescue technique involves highly trained firefighters being lowered from a hovering helicopter to an injured or trapped person below. Once secured to a harness or stokes basket, both the victim and rescuer are then hoisted into the helicopter and flown to a landing zone. 

New Tools and Partnerships Boost CAL FIRE Cone Collections in 2024

It has been a busy year for CAL FIRE’s Reforestation Services Program (RSP) with over 4000 bushels collected in 2024 compared to 210 in 2023. With the expansion of partnerships through initiatives like the Reforestation Pipeline Cooperative and the Reforestation Because of You program, RSP has had a great year of cone collecting. Learn more about the program by following the link below or see cone collectors in action in the video above.   

Come on a Journey from Seed to Tree

Join us on the adventure of a tiny seed as it, with a little help from CAL FIRE's Reforestation Services Program, transforms into a towering tree! From high up in a tree, seeds are carefully collected by CAL FIRE and contract climbers, tested for quality, and nurtured in our greenhouses. It’s all part of a mission to help California’s forests regrow after wildfires, providing oxygen, shade, and homes for wildlife. Learn more about this cycle below.

New Nursery Producing Millions of Seedlings for Reforestation with Help of CAL FIRE Grant-Funding

California is facing a pressing challenge in reforestation, having lost over 8.5 million acres of landscape to wildfires in the past five years. In response, CAL FIRE is committed to support projects that promote forest health, with a strong focus on reforestation. Let’s explore a state-of-the-art nursery in Siskiyou County, which received funding from a CAL FIRE Business and Workforce Development grant, where the necessary seedlings are being produced. 

CAL FIRE Part of Cross-Agency Recovery Team Helping to Rebuild After Caldor Fire

Three years after the Caldor Fire, multiple partners are working together to restore the natural areas that were damaged in 2021. The Emergency Forest Restoration Team (EFRT), along with CAL FIRE, the U.S. Forest Service - Eldorado National Forest, and local conservation districts, are helping private landowners replant trees and rebuild their lands. The EFRT, funded by CAL FIRE and the USDA Forest Service, is replanting trees, clearing burned trees, and creating fuel breaks around Grizzly Flats to help the community recover and be ready for future wildfires. Learn more about this project at the El Dorado and Georgetown Divide Resource Conservation District website.  

Remembering those that served at the California Fallen Firefighters Memorial



In October, seven of our own were honored at the Annual California Fallen Firefighters Memorial Ceremony in Sacramento.

Working with Partners to Prepare for Wildfire and Build Resilience

Take a look at how the CAL FIRE Shasta-Trinity Unit implemented a 590-acre prescribed burn project just outside of the City of Redding at Gore Ranch.

Chief Vickie Sakamoto is named Assistant State Fire Marshal

Chief Sakamoto brings 38 years of leadership in California’s fire protection and safety to the position. Learn more about Chief Sakamoto below.

Join Us, We're Hiring R.V.E.T.S. (Returning Veterans: Enlisting Their Skills for CAL FIRE Service)

CAL FIRE’s R.V.E.T.S. program, founded in 2011, supports Veterans, Service Members, and families transitioning into civil service. Recognizing their skills and work ethic, R.V.E.T.S. provides career counseling, job placement, and workshops to ease the process. Thanks to this dedication, CAL FIRE earned its third Veterans Employer of the Year award in 2024. We deeply thank all Veterans, Service Members, and families for their service and sacrifices.

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