Cal Fire

California Wildfires

California’s firefighter union is poised to get a rare perk: Guaranteed raises, forever

After several years of devastating wildfires, California lawmakers want to give hefty raises to Cal Fire firefighters. The deal could tie the governor's hands in contracts.

By

Anabel Sosa

• June 30, 2023

The California Firefighters Memorial on the state Capitol grounds on March 4, 2022. Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters

Inside the Newsroom

CalMatters journalists win awards for ‘compelling’ and ‘high quality’ environmental coverage

The Northern California chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists honored CalMatters’ work.

By

Sonya Quick

• January 10, 2023

California Wildfires

California firefighters get shorter workweeks — but not for 2 years

Facing a mental health crisis, Cal Fire crews sought less of a workload. But they have to wait two years under their new contract.

By

Julie Cart

• December 16, 2022

Firefighters walk past backfire — flames lit by firefighters to burn off vegetation — while battling the Mosquito Fire in El Dorado County on Sept. 9, 2022. Photo by Noah Berger, AP Photo

California Wildfires

By the numbers: California’s mild 2022 wildfire season

Moderate weather and well-timed rainstorms in much of California combined to curb the acreage and structures burned.

By

Julie Cart

• December 1, 2022

As wildfires intensify, thousands of overworked California firefighters carry a heavy load of trauma, pain and grief. Here, firefighter Jose Corona sprays water as flames from the Camp Fire consume a home in Magalia on Nov. 9, 2018. Photo by Noah Berger, AP Photo

Environment

Overworked California firefighters struggle with PTSD, suicide, fatigue, intensifying wildfires

Cal Fire faces a mental health crisis. As wildfires burn year-round, thousands of overworked California firefighters carry a heavy load of trauma, pain and grief. They leave a fire but the fire never leaves them.

By

Julie Cart

• June 13, 2022

Ryan Mitchell fought fires for Cal Fire for 12 years, rising to the rank of captain, before shocking everyone by jumping off a bridge in a remote part of San Diego County. Illustration by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters; iStock

Environment

Ryan’s story: A hard-charging California firefighter loses his last battle to suicide

Strong and stoic, a Cal Fire captain fought wildland fires and helped retrieve the bodies of despondent people who had jumped off a remote bridge. When the bridge beckoned him, he couldn’t keep fighting.

By

Julie Cart

• June 13, 2022

Noelle BahnmilleCal Fire Battalion Chief Noelle Bahnmiller, shown at n Bradley on March 9, 2022. Photo by Martin do Nascimento, CalMatters

Environment

Back from the brink: A fire captain’s journey from terror to trauma to recovery — and more terror

“I felt trapped.” For months, a firefighter kept reliving her colleagues' screams when a Mendocino County wildfire encircled them. On the day she planned to take her life, she got help instead — just in time.

By

Julie Cart

• June 13, 2022

CalFire Battalion Chief Brad Niven at his home in Sonora on June 8, 2022. Photo by Julie Hotz for CalMatters

Environment

Slow burn: Cal Fire has failed to fight PTSD, heavy workloads

About 10% of Cal Fire’s workforce quit the agency last year. “We are at critical mass, guaranteed,” one Cal Fire captain said. Workers’ comp cases for PTSD are routinely denied, and many crews are fatigued from working weeks at a time with no time off.

By

Julie Cart

• June 13, 2022

WhatMatters

Inside Cal Fire’s mental health epidemic

A smoldering crisis has emerged at California’s firefighting agency, Cal Fire. As blazes intensify and California’s fire season grows longer, firefighters are increasingly fatigued, traumatized and overworked. In her stunning five-month investigation Trial by Fire, CalMatters reporter and Pulitzer Prize winner Julie Cart uncovers a severe and unaddressed mental health crisis at Cal Fire. Despite […]

By

Emily Hoeven

• June 13, 2022

Gov. Gavin Newsom talks to media after touring the North Complex Fire zone in Butte County on Sep 11, 2020 outside of Oroville. Newsom has declared a statewide emergency due to the widespread fires and extreme weather conditions, and secured a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration to bolster the state’s emergency response to the Northern California wildfires. Paul Kitagaki Jr./The Sacramento Bee, Pool

Commentary

Californians deserve the truth about wildfire prevention efforts

Gov. Gavin Newsom has misled Californians about what the state has done to prevent catastrophic wildfires.

By

Guest Commentary

• September 1, 2021