Existing law establishes in the Natural Resource Agency the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, and requires the department to be responsible for, among other things, fire protection and prevention, as provided.

This bill would provide that it is the intent of the Legislature to enact subsequent legislation relating to increasing year-round staffing levels at the department.

Date of Hearing: April 23, 2025

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Buffy Wicks, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 252

Author:(Bains) – As Amended Ver:March 24, 2025

Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: No

SUMMARY:

This bill requires the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) to maintain no less than full staffing levels throughout the calendar year and meet specified staffing requirements.

Specifically, this bill, among other things:

1. Defines “full staffing levels” as the combined highest number of full-time, part-time, and seasonal firefighting personnel employed by CAL FIRE in any single month between January 1, 2022, and December 31, 2024.
2. Requires CAL FIRE, by January 1, 2028, to maintain no less than full staffing levels throughout the calendar year at all fire stations and facilities under its jurisdiction. Requires CAL FIRE to employ sufficient permanent firefighting personnel to meet this requirement. Requires CAL FIRE to implement the staffing requirements with the following schedule:
   1. By January 1, 2026, CAL FIRE shall achieve 50% of the required increase in year-round staffing levels.
   2. By January 1, 2027, CAL FIRE shall achieve 75% of the required increase in year-round staffing levels.
3. Requires CAL FIRE to report annually to the Legislature on its progress toward implementation of year-round staffing requirements, impact on emergency response capabilities, cost analysis and budgetary requirements, and recruitment and retention metrics.
4. Requires the Legislature to appropriate in the annual Budget Act or another statute sufficient moneys to implement this bill.

FISCAL EFFECT:

Ongoing annual costs of an unknown but very significant amount, likely in the hundreds of millions of dollars, for CAL FIRE to hire more firefighting personnel and maintain full staffing levels throughout the year at all fire stations and facilities under its jurisdiction (General Fund). CAL FIRE did not have a cost estimate available at the time of the writing of this analysis; however, according to a representative with the Department of Finance, who testified at a hearing of the Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 4 in February of this year, a shift to year-round staffing would likely cost the state in the hundreds of millions of dollars annually. The committee notes that the requirement for CAL FIRE to achieve 50% of the required increase in year-round staffing levels by January, 1, 2026, is likely infeasible given that the bill, if chaptered, becomes effective on that date.

Cost drivers may include salaries and benefits for new firefighters; salaries and benefits for new support staff, including administrative personnel and maintenance staff; additional overtime (including both scheduled and unplanned) for firefighters and other wildfire response‑related classifications; various augmented aerial support‑related contracts, such as for contracted pilots and mechanics at airbases; possible special repair funding to address maintenance needs at CAL FIRE facilities; training center costs; and proportional funding for contract counties.

As described below, CAL FIRE is implementing a 66-hour workweek, which is expected to cost the state $770 million annually ($756 million from the General Fund) when fully implemented.

COMMENTS:

1) Purpose. According to the author:

AB 252 is a critical piece of legislation that seeks to modernize CALFIRE’s staffing structure to ensure California is better prepared for the growing threat of wildfires. By requiring CALFIRE to maintain full staffing levels year-round, rather than laying off and rehiring thousands of firefighters annually, the bill directly addresses gaps in the state’s ability to respond to increasingly frequent and severe wildfires caused by climate change. The bill mandates a phased approach to achieving full staffing, with incremental increases through 2028, and ensures the Legislature provides necessary funding for implementation.

2) Background. According to the Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO), CAL FIRE’s total spending for wildfire response has grown significantly over the past several years – from $2.2 billion in fiscal year (FY) 2017-18 to $4.2 billion in FY 2024-25. This does not include additional costs associated with responding to the January 2025 wildfires in Southern California. CAL FIRE’S overall workforce – including those dedicated primarily to wildfire response, as well as those engaged in other activities such as forest resilience – has increased substantially in recent years. Specifically, CAL FIRE’S total staffing grew by more than 80% between FY 2017-18 and FY 2024-25 (from 6,800 to 12,500). Similarly, the number of positions that CAL FIRE designates as dedicated primarily to wildfire response or protection has grown by nearly 85% over that same period (from 5,800 to 10,800). As of FY 2024-25, the LAO estimates that roughly 75% of wildfire response-related positions are permanent and the rest are seasonal.

The FY 2024-25 budget allocated $199 million (mostly General Fund) and 338 positions for CAL FIRE to begin implementing a shorter workweek for its firefighters (from 72 hours to 66 hours). LAO expects the cost of the proposal to increase in the coming years as CAL FIRE phases in the changes, rising to $770 million on an ongoing annual basis. LAO estimates that by the time the change to the workweek is fully implemented in FY 2028-29, CAL FIRE positions focused on wildfire response will increase to roughly 12,900.

The 66-hour workweek plan shifts a significant number of seasonal firefighters to permanent firefighters, which means that more engines will be staffed year-round than historically has been the case and more firefighters will be working at any given time during non-peak periods than otherwise would have been the case. According to the LAO, the proposal extends the peak staffing period from five months to nine months, resulting in additional CAL FIRE firefighters being on duty at any given time because there will be more engines deployed overall. Further, by extending peak season for an additional four months, the plan will significantly increase the number of firefighters on duty throughout the whole year. The permanent personnel would allow CAL FIRE to adjust its staffing rotation to a platoon model in which firefighters would rotate on and off duty together as a group rather than individually.

3) Related Legislation.

AB 247 (Bryan) requires incarcerated individual hand crew members from county jails be paid an hourly wage of $19 and have the wage rate updated on an annual basis. AB 247 is pending in this committee.

AB 1309 (Flora) requires, among other things, comparative pay for rank-and-file state Bargaining Unit (BU) 8 firefighters employed by CAL FIRE similar to those of other California fire departments. AB 1309 is pending in this committee.

SB 581 (McGuire) requires the Department of Human Resources, the State Personnel Board, and any other relevant state agency to take necessary actions to transition the Firefighter I classification within CAL FIRE to a permanent firefighter employment classification. SB 581 is pending in the Senate Labor, Public Employment, and Retirement Committee.

Analysis Prepared by: Nikita Koraddi / APPR. / (916) 319-2081

Date of Hearing: April 7, 2025

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES

Isaac G. Bryan, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 252 (

Author:Bains) – As Amended Ver:March 24, 2025

SUBJECT: Wildfire protection: Department of Forestry and Fire Protection: staffing

SUMMARY: Requires the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) to maintain no less than full staffing levels throughout the calendar year and meet specified staffing requirements.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Establishes the Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention (CAL FIRE) in the California Natural Resources Agency to provide fire protection and prevention services, as specified. CAL FIRE is the lead agency for fire protection in the State Responsibility Area (SRA).
2. Requires budgeted sums to be allocated to the contract counties at least equal to the direct cost of fire protection, as provided.

THIS BILL:

1. Establishes the Stop Laying Off Firefighters Act.
2. Defines, for purposes of the bill, “full staffing levels” as the combined highest number of full-time, part-time, and seasonal firefighting personnel employed by CAL FIRE in any single month between January 1, 2022, and December 31, 2024.
3. Requires CAL FIRE, on or before January 1, 2028, to maintain no less than full staffing levels throughout the calendar year at all fire stations and facilities under its jurisdiction.
4. Requires CAL FIRE to employ sufficient permanent firefighting personnel to meet the requirements of #3.
5. Requires CAL FIRE to implement the staffing requirements with the following schedule:
   1. On or before January 1, 2026, CAL FIRE shall achieve 50% percent of the required increase in year-round staffing levels.
   2. On or before January 1, 2027, CAL FIRE shall achieve 75% of the required increase in year-round staffing levels.
6. Requires CAL FIRE to report annually to the Legislature on all of the following:
   1. Progress toward implementation of year-round staffing requirements;
   2. Impact on emergency response capabilities;
   3. Cost analysis and budgetary requirements; and,
   4. Recruitment and retention metrics.
7. Requires the Legislature to appropriate in the annual Budget Act or another statute sufficient moneys to implement this bill.

FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown

COMMENTS:

1. Author’s statement:

AB 252 is a critical piece of legislation that seeks to modernize CALFIRE’s staffing structure to ensure California is better prepared for the growing threat of wildfires. By requiring CALFIRE to maintain full staffing levels year-round, rather than laying off and rehiring thousands of firefighters annually, the bill directly addresses gaps in the state’s ability to respond to increasingly frequent and severe wildfires caused by climate change. The bill mandates a phased approach to achieving full staffing, with incremental increases through 2028, and ensures the Legislature provides necessary funding for implementation. Given that climate change has already led to more extreme fire seasons, year-round staffing is essential not only for emergency response but also for vital wildfire prevention efforts such as controlled burns, reforestation, and community education. By stabilizing the workforce, AB 252 also enhances firefighter retention, reduces training costs, and improves public safety across all communities. Importantly, while wildfires impact all Californians, low-income communities often struggle the most to recover from fire damage. Strengthening the state’s firefighting capacity can help mitigate the devastating effects of wildfires and protect vulnerable populations.

1. Wildfires in California. Wildfires have been growing in size, duration, and destructivity over the past 20 years. Growing wildfire risk is due to accumulating fuels, a warming climate, and expanding development in the wildland-urban interface. The 2020 fire season broke numerous records. Five of California’s six largest fires in modern history burned at the same time, with more than 4.3 million acres burned across the state, double the previous record. The Los Angeles fires have burned an area nearly the size of Washington, D.C., killed 28 people and damaged or destroyed nearly 16,000 structures, according to CAL FIRE.
2. CAL FIRE budget. CAL FIRE is responsible for fire prevention and suppression in more than 31 million acres across the state. CAL FIRE’s workweek, staffing, and operational models are dictated in large part by its service needs, which include providing 24-hours per day, 7-days per week coverage on a year-round basis, as well as augmented response capacity during peak wildfire season. CAL FIRE’s firefighters, fire engines, and aircraft respond to more than 5,400 wildland fires that burn an average of 156,000 acres each year, and, according to CAL FIRE, “answer the call [of duty] more than 450,000 times for other emergencies each year.”

Total spending on CAL FIRE fire protection, resource management, and fire prevention has grown from $800 million in fiscal year (FY) 2005-06 to $4.1 billion in FY 2024-25. CAL FIRE’s base fire protection budget has grown steadily over this period, while emergency fire suppression spending varies from year to year based on the severity of the wildfire season. Correspondingly, according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office^[1] (LAO), CAL FIRE’s staffing levels also have increased significantly over the past decade. Specifically, between FYs 2014-15 and 2023-24, the number of positions that CAL FIRE categorizes as related to fire protection increased from 5,756 to 10,275, and the total number of positions at the department grew from 6,632 to 12,000 (representing roughly an 80% increase in both cases). In the FY 2020-21 and 2022-23 budgets, the Legislature approved proposals totaling roughly $170 million per year on an ongoing basis to provide relief staffing, such as adding new fire crews at CAL FIRE and partner agencies and funding new helicopter and other aircraft.

As of 2024-25, the LAO estimates that roughly three-quarters of wildfire response-related positions are permanent and the rest are seasonal. In the FY 2024-25 budget, CAL FIRE has 12,511.5 authorized positions split among the Office of the State Fire Marshal, Fire Protection, Resource Management, the Board of Forestry and Fire Protection, and Administrative Services. More than 85% of staff are dedicated to fire protection.

1. 66-hour work week. The first 24 to 48 hours of a massive megafire like the Camp Fire or the Eaton and Palisades Fires, no one sleeps. Firefighters work under grueling conditions nonstop, and the voracity of fires over the last few years have placed significant strains on firefighters. Firefighters work long overtime hours and many times up to 40 days in a row without a single day off.

When major fires break out, CAL FIRE can request local resources from local fire departments that send out their strike teams. Even with reinforcements, the state can still come up short handed with firefighters when multiple fires are burning concurrently.

To address burnout, the state is in the process of implementing a 66-hour work week plan for the state’s firefighters. Unit 8 (CAL FIRE Local 2881), which represents most of CAL FIRE’s positions, such as Fire Captains, Fire Apparatus Engineers, Fire Fighter IIs, and Fire Fighter Is, executed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the state in September 2022 with the state to, among other things, reduce the CAL FIRE firefighter workweek from 72 hours to 66 hours—a 24-hour reduction per 28-day pay period.

The 2024-25 budget includes $199 million and 338 positions in fiscal year 2024-25 to begin implementing a shift to a 66-hour workweek as contemplated in the 2022 MOU with Unit 8. The costs of the proposal would increase in the coming years as CAL FIRE phases in the changes, rising to $770 million on an ongoing annual basis and 2,457 permanent positions by 2028-29. By FY 2028-29, the state is committed to adding 2,457 new permanent positions to CAL FIRE. Staffing up at that capacity takes times, which is why the proposal is phased in over four budget years.

The plan shifts a significant number of seasonal firefighters to permanent firefighters, which means that more engines will be staffed year round than historically has been the case and more firefighters will be working at any given time during non-peak periods than otherwise would have been the case. According to the LAO, the proposal extends the peak staffing period from five months to nine months, resulting in additional CAL FIRE firefighters being on duty at any given time because there will be more engines deployed overall. Further, by extending peak season for an additional four months, the plan will significantly increase the number of firefighters on duty throughout the whole year. The permanent personnel would allow CAL FIRE to adjust its staffing rotation to a platoon model in which firefighters would rotate on and off duty together as a group rather than individually. For example, an engine might be staffed by a team made up of a Fire Captain, Fire Apparatus Engineer, and Fire Fighter I on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday; a separate trio of individuals on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday; and a third group on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Additionally, the proposal increases the number of engines operated during base staff from 65 to 135 engines.

The LAO estimates that by the time the change to the workweek is fully implemented in 2028-29, CAL FIRE positions focused on wildfire response will increase roughly to 12,900.

1. Federal staffing shortages. In 2022, Congressman Darrell Issa (CA-48) introduced “Direct Hire to Fight Fire,” House Resolution. 3499 to speed the hiring of essential firefighting roles at federal agencies including the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and National Park Service. The legislation grants permanent Direct Hire Authority to federal firefighting agencies. 58% of all California forestlands are owned and managed by the Federal Government.

In October, the U.S. Forest Service directed its employees in California to stop prescribed burning “for the foreseeable future,” citing the need to preserve staff and equipment to fight wildfires if needed. The Angeles National Forest, managed by the U.S. Forest Service, covers more than 650,000 acres, about one-quarter of LA County. Further, the Trump Administration is in the process of downsizing the federal workforce by more than two million employees, including more than 7,000 employees at the U.S. Forest Service, and hundreds of positions at the National Park Service, and the Bureau of Land Management.

1. This bill. AB 252 requires CAL FIRE, on or before January 1, 2028, to maintain no less than full staffing levels throughout the calendar year at all fire stations and facilities under its jurisdiction. The staffing requirements would be met on the following schedule: 50% percent of the required increase in year-round staffing levels by January 1, 2026, and 75% of the required increase in year-round staffing levels by January 1, 2027.
2. Related legislation.

SB 581 (McGuire) establishes the Fight for Firefighters Act to transition 3,000 seasonal firefighters to fulltime; keep 356 CAL FIRE fire engines fully operational 365 days per year; maintain 38 vegetation management crews fully operational year round; and require all CAL FIRE helicopter bases to be fully staffed year round. This bill is referred to the Senate Labor, Public Employment and Retirement Committee.

AB 247 (Bryan) requires inmate firefighters to be paid an hourly wage equal to the lowest nonincarcerated firefighter wage in the State of California for the time that they are actively fighting a fire. The lowest firefighter wage shall be updated annually. This bill is referred to the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

AB 1309 (Flora) requires the state to pay firefighters who are rank-and-file members of State Bargaining Unit 8 within 15% of the average of the salary for corresponding ranks in the 20 California fire departments, agreed to by the exclusive bargaining representative for Bargaining Unit 8 and the Department of Human Resources in 2017. This bill is referred to the Assembly Public Employee and Retirement Committee.

SB 1062 (McGuire) 2022 would have required, on or before January 1, 2024, CAL FIRE to provide to the Legislature a long-term staffing plan for the department and for the plan identify the staffing and infrastructure needs for the department through the year 2030 to meet the new era of wildfire firefighting. This bill was held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

Cal Fire Local 2881

Opposition

None on file

Analysis Prepared by: Paige Brokaw / NAT. RES. /

1. The 2024-25 Budget: CalFire—Implementation of a 66-Hour Workweek ↑