Governor Newsom orders more firefighting resources ahead of expected high temperatures

Governor Gavin Newsom has directed the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) to approve the predeployment of eight additional fire engines and three additional water tenders to Placer and Calaveras counties. This move comes ahead of anticipated high temperatures, low humidity, and dry lightning in these areas. These new resources are in addition to those that were already predeployed earlier in the week for Southern California, which is also experiencing elevated heat and critical fire weather through Sunday.

In total, Cal OES has approved 73 fire engines, 20 water tenders, nine bulldozers, five helicopters, 10 hand crews, 16 dispatchers, and two Incident Management Teams for predeployment across 12 counties. The affected counties include Inyo, Kern, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Sierra, Nevada, Plumas, Placer, and Calaveras. Local fire agencies determine when their communities may need extra support and submit requests to the state. Staging locations and response assignments are coordinated by local officials.

“These efforts ensure that resources are ready to respond quickly, minimizing the potential impact of new fires,” according to the statement from Cal OES. “This proactive approach has proven to be a critical component of California’s wildfire response strategy, reducing response times and containing fires before they escalate into major incidents.” The statement added that this preposition program supplements California’s Fire and Rescue Mutual Aid System.

California entered Phase 2 of its extreme temperature response plan on Wednesday due to forecasts calling for extreme heat throughout much of the state. State and local coordination efforts have increased as part of this phase. At Governor Newsom’s direction, the State Operations Center at Cal OES remains on an enhanced watch for both heat and fire conditions. Cooling centers have opened statewide to help protect vulnerable residents.

Officials urge residents to stay alert during this period of heightened heat and wildfire risk. Californians are encouraged to prepare a wildfire action plan—including evacuation routes—and pack a go-bag with essentials; sign up for local emergency alerts; visit https://CalHeatScore.CalEPA.ca.gov for area-specific heat safety information; and consult https://ready.ca.gov/ for more details on fire safety and preparedness.