There is information coming out of Kern County that they will disband all their wildland crews this summer, including Rio Bravo hotshots. Does anyone have any more information about that?
I have heard the same thing and would love to hear more info on the reasons behind this.
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I suspect it would have to do with the fact that Kern County Fire had to take out a 15 million dollar loan from the Board of Supervisors to make payroll, while awaiting money owed to KCFD from the state.
That makes sense, in the end all tough decisions probably come down to Money. KRN can rip off lots of acres in a good season. This will definitely have an impact on suppression.
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My source says 3 crews are on, no cuts, it was proposed by BOS and citizens said no.
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So here’s an update for all of you that are concerned. All of our crews were put on hold due to financial implications in May. $14M was requested from the BOS, but never used as we received payment from the government. Currently we have 3, type 2IA crews in service as Rio Bravo IHC is not red carded due to qualifications of overhead. This is in the process of being fixed.
Unfortunately, again due to staffing and finance, we are not able to send any resources, with the exception of OES strike teams or IMT team members, out of county until after July 1st.
Hope this clears up any rumors.
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