SACRAMENTO, California — California Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire announced bipartisan legislation Tuesday to increase Cal Fire staffing all year long following the Los Angeles fires.
What happened: The proposal would transition the 3,000 seasonal firefighters who usually work from roughly April to December to permanent year-round employees to staff Cal Fire’s 356 engines and 38 vegetation management crews as well as its helicopter bases.
The cost would be $175 million to $185 million annually, McGuire said. That includes funding for Cal Fire firefighters as well as for six counties that contract with Cal Fire for local firefighting services, including $9.4 million annually for the Los Angeles Fire Department.
“Wildfires do not take three months off, so the elite Cal Fire firefighting force that is our best in last defense and protecting lives and homes across the state should be full time too,” McGuire said in a press conference Tuesday morning.
