Bill would make CalFire workers year-round firefighters
(Feb. 19, 2025) — California continues to face unprecedented wildfires that are burning longer, hotter and more frequently than ever before.
The utterly devastating and fatal wildfires that recently burned across the Los Angeles region only days into the new year underscore that we are no longer dealing with fire seasons, but a year-round fire risk. This escalating crisis stretches firefighters dangerously thin, and wildfires now threaten communities in every corner of the Golden State.
That is why I am proud to be partnering with Senate Pro Tempore Mike McGuire in joint-authoring the Fight for Firefighters Act of 2025.
The bottom line is we need more firefighters on the front lines, and we need more boots on the ground, to battle these fires and create more defensible spaces around our cities and towns. The Fight for Firefighters Act accomplishes both by transitioning all 3,000 nine-month seasonal CalFire firefighters to year-round permanent positions. This bipartisan legislation will fully staff all 356 CalFire fire engines and helitack bases 365 days a year while ensuring CalFire wildfire vegetation management crews can do their good work for a full 12 months.
The grueling work of fighting these devastating wildfires takes a toll on physical and mental health, in ways we don’t yet entirely understand. In 2017, the year of the deadly Tubbs Fire, more firefighters died by suicide than on the front lines. Our firefighters need the training, rest and resources necessary to be ready to respond to emergencies 12 months a year, every year, and to take care of themselves and their loved ones.
I’m a longtime supporter of our firefighters and emergency responders’ mental health needs. As a critical response chaplain to our local fire department and as a parent of a firefighter, this is personal to me.
Health and wellbeing
In 2019, I was proud to author legislation to increase access to effective mental health services for our firefighters. In 2023, I authored AB 700, which established the California Firefighter Prevention and Research Program to examine biomarkers of carcinogenic exposure and effect in order to identify the biological mechanisms that cause cancer and to reduce the incidence of cancer among firefighters. Currently, this program is conducting health screenings for California firefighters who were among the first responders to the Jan. 7 fires in L.A. County, specifically addressing their unique health impacts.
Now more than ever, we must continue to support research like this to safeguard the health and wellbeing of our firefighters.
While California has made great progress in expanding CalFire’s ranks and resources, our firefighters now need our help again. I’m grateful that McGuire and our state Senate are rising to meet this moment, and I look forward to announcing soon additional legislation I’ll be co-authoring to respond to the recent fires and prevent future wildfires from occurring.
If you would like to discuss California’s wildfire policies and investments to make our state fire safe, or other matters important to you, please connect with me through my offices at 925-258-1176 or 916-651-4009.