Pasadena Fire Department crews are spread across California, Oregon and Washington battling major wildfires, Fire Chief Chad Augustin reported in the city's weekly newsletter on Thursday, Aug. 6, with roughly two months of peak fire season still ahead.
Five separate deployments have sent PFD personnel to some of the most destructive fires burning in the West. A captain initially assigned to the Fox Incident as a medical unit leader has been reassigned to the Old Trails Fire near Spokane, Washington, where Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown called the disaster "the worst natural disaster our region has faced." The Old Trails Fire, which broke out Aug. 1, has destroyed 640 of the more than 700 structures lost in the broader Spokane Complex, according to Spokane County Fire District 3 Chief Cody Rohrbach. Roughly 65,000 people were placed under evacuation orders.
Another Pasadena firefighter is working the Gann Fire in Calaveras County, which ignited Monday, Aug. 3, near Valley Springs and had burned 10,372 acres at 19% containment as of the evening of Aug. 5, according to Pasadena Now. Seven structures were destroyed and one firefighter injured. Investigators arrested a 65-year-old Valley Springs man, alleging he started the fire while operating spark-producing equipment in vegetation. Gov. Gavin Newsom secured a FEMA grant covering 75% of eligible suppression costs for the Gann Fire, the state's third such grant this year.
Additional PFD deployments include Water Tender 34, which spent four days on the Summit Incident, a fire engineer who served seven days as a fireline paramedic on the Biscar Incident, and a firefighter assigned to the Grasshopper Incident.
Washington is experiencing its worst fire year since 2021, with more than 1,000 fires burning about 425,000 acres during a fourth consecutive statewide drought, according to the Washington State Department of Natural Resources.
The deployments are governed by California's Master Mutual Aid Agreement, signed in 1950, which commits cities and counties to share firefighting resources during disasters. Pasadena does not absorb the full cost of sending crews; the state's California Fire Assistance Agreement reimburses local agencies.
The out-of-area assignments come seven months after the January 2025 Eaton Fire killed 19 people, destroyed more than 9,000 buildings and scorched 14,000 acres in Pasadena and Altadena. On Monday, Aug. 3, the City Council voted 7-0, with Councilmember Tyron Hampton abstaining, to place a fire parcel tax on the Nov. 3 ballot. The measure would levy 19 cents per square foot on improved properties, generating roughly $22.1 million a year for fire protection, wildfire mitigation and station upgrades.
"This is insurance for all 140,000 people who live in our city," District 2 Councilmember Rick Cole said at the Aug. 3 meeting.
Fire Chief Augustin told the council that regional grant funding has fallen from $24 million to $11 million over five years, according to Pasadena Now. The parcel tax requires two-thirds voter approval and carries a 14-year sunset.
Fire season in California and Washington typically runs June through October. Residents can share priorities for fire department services through the city's survey at bit.ly/pasadenasurvey.
