Use this area to discuss questions regarding staffing of seasonal FF’s within the CALFIRE Agency
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What is CF staffing these days? Have many seasonals left for school/etc. or are they able to maintain peak season staffing this late?
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Staffing extended until December 31
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Nowadays pretty much all seasonals work 9 months before being separated, so their layoff date is more about when they started then what the conditions are. Firefighters who start later in the year and have not hit 9 months by the time we transition from summer preparedness to winter preparedness roll into fuels management programs, cutting and burning all winter. Also all CF units now have state funded engines staffed year around, separate from Amador contracts, these engines were known as drought augmentation but now are referred to as climate change initiative. So during the winter the firefighters still working are either working fuels projects or are on a climate change engine. Rarely do we have seasonals leaving to go back to school anymore, not saying it doesn’t happen but it’s not as common as it used to be. The seasonal firefighter I position isn’t really just a summer job for younger folks any longer. As mention peak staffing was extended until December 31, under an emergency declaration.
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There is word out that all FFIs that are timing out right now are not being layed off and will be extended under emergency hire rules.
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Yes that happened last week, see the last sentence of my post.
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I was talking about ff1s who were gonna get laid off on Monday will work over there 9 month max. The Dec 31st was already gonna happen before these fires started.
We are talking about the same thing, CF wasn’t planning on transitioning to winter preparedness until Dec. 31 but until last week there was not an emergency declaration.
Worked for CDF/Cal Fire for 30+ yrs. Things change in a drop of a hat with staffing. Politics, Budgets, Weather etc…One good December storm can change everything…No one in the right mind would lay off anyone, in light of recent events…That would be Political Suicide at this stage…one thing I learned working for the State…Expect the Unexpected and Plans change overnite…you better hope for a little rain and snow or think about how ugly it will be next year…
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I feel that with these last 8 years give or take , when rain develops either in the south or north of CA. It’s just a temporary break for all of us. Until the next mission presents itself.
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With the number of major fires this season, we are probably looking at some mudslide/debris flow strike team deployments this winter
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It’s crazy to think with 5 plus inches of rain predicted and rain predicted the first weeks of December and they will still keep everyone on till December 31st.
Its a new normal. 
Well with ohhhhh about 1,000,000
acres of freshly burned ( not mosaicly) and a vast majority of the burn area, adjacent to or above cities, towns, highways etc… I wonder whom might be able to have at minimum of one immediate need strike team available to be deployed? Ahhhh full staffing AT LEAST until December 31
It’s not crazy, it’s proactive thinking. City of Montecito ring a bell.?
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My unit did layoffs. No extension.
What Unit?
San Diego Unit hiring is unique, MVU is the only unit that is funded for year around staffing of schedule b engines 02350, non-amador. San Diego is also the only unit that is about to bring back firefighters from their 3 month separation, which is the reason some firefighters were recently separated.
All units in CSR have some level of year round 02350 staffing, not just MVU. And most of those units now have hiring platoons for the FF rank to meet this mission.
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BDU has extended their peak staffing for the possibility of 60 days . State has funded peak till end of December.
The December 2nd group was put on that extension.
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MVU is dropping to 18 engines, 1 helicopter and 2 dozers on Monday, Dec 10th. All crews will remain covered. They are keeping all their emergency appointments will remain on, but they are laying off 45 ff’s.