Just in time for fire season, Senator Mike McGuire joined fire chiefs from southern Humboldt and northern Mendocino counties on Feb. 6 for a virtual media briefing that highlighted critical state investments for rural and volunteer fire departments across the region.
With $2 million in state funding secured by Sen. McGuire two years ago, ten brand-new Type 6 quick attack fire engines have been, or will soon be, delivered to under-resourced fire departments in southern Humboldt and northern Mendocino communities including Briceland, Garberville, Palo Verde, Telegraph Ridge, Whitethorn, Covelo, Laytonville, Leggett, Piercy, and Westport. In some cases, fire districts were able to replace 50-year-old engines with the brand-new fire trucks, greatly strengthening the region’s emergency response and firefighting capability for years to come.
This local modernization initiative spearheaded by Sen. McGuire is backed by the state’s massive investment in wildfire prevention efforts across California, which has doubled the number of CAL FIRE firefighters and has begun transitioning all 3,000 seasonal CAL FIRE firefighters to year-round, full-time.