Source: Cal Fire
March 2, 2025 (San Diego) – Cal Fire law enforcement investigators have arrested Ruben Vasquez on multiple felony arson charges following an extensive investigation into two wildland fires that ignited on January 21. The fires, known as the Pala Fire and the Lilac Fire, started 25 minutes apart near Interstate 15 and State Route 76 in the Pala Mesa and Bonsall areas.
Together, they burned nearly 100 acres and prompted evacuations affecting hundreds of residents. Witness reports and investigative efforts led to the identification of Vasquez as a suspect.
On February 28, Cal Fire Law Enforcement Investigators arrested Vasquez for two counts of felony arson, and he was transported to the Vista Detention Facility. The investigation report will be referred to the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office.
Cal Fire indicates that arson investigations are complex and require thorough evidence collection, scene examination, and witness interviews, which can be time-consuming. Accurate findings are essential for accountability and preventive measures.
Cal Fire extends gratitude to its partners at the San Diego County Sheriff's Office, North County Fire Protection District, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office for their valuable support and assistance during the investigation.
By Mike Allen
Photo: Santee Fire Department responding in 2023
March 1, 2025 (Santee) -- The chaos and disruption happening daily at the federal government isn’t permeating to the local level in Santee, where the City Council took several significant actions this week, including funding the remaining balance on a $2 million temporary fire station, adopting a new specific plan for its Town Center area, and hearing that its finances are in sterling shape.
The East County city of 60,000 has long acknowledged that it lacks adequate fire protection, making due with the same two fire stations that existed decades ago. At the prompting of the local firefighters’ union last November, the Council unanimously backed their plan to raise some $54 million through a half-cent sales tax increase and bond issuance to build two new stations, and hire additional staff.
Santee voters rejected the idea, forcing the Council to address the issue without imposing new taxes on the public.
The temporary station, which converted a maintenance operations yard to a fire station off Olive Lane, was approved in 2023, and is close to completion. Initially, the Council appropriated $1 million for the temporary station, but the final bill will be about twice that amount.
To finish the project, the Council allocated some $425,000 it still had left of federal stimulus funding to go with earlier allocations and transfers. The contract was awarded to Horizons Construction Co. of Orange, CA, the same one that did the living quarters building.
The slew of provisions contained in the vote gives Fire Chief Justin Matsushita the power to make change orders to a maximum of $151,000 or 15 percent of the contract, which will be done in a design-build mode.
The action triggered little comment from the five elected officials except from Councilman Rob McNelis who said he was under the impression the new financing arrangement would result in a surplus to the city. Matsushita said he didn’t recall stating that.
The new station will provide much better response times to calls emanating from the southern part of Santee, and relieve pressure on the city’s two aging stations, one on Carlton Oaks Drive, and the other on Cottonwood Avenue. The overwhelming number of calls are for medical emergencies. Of the total 919 calls the Santee Fire Dept responded to in January, 708 were medical related, and only 18 involved fire, according to numbers posted on the department’s Facebook page.
In other actions, the Council adopted a revised Town Center Specific Plan, setting a framework of planning concepts for the city’s core section, roughly bounded on the north by Mast Boulevard, on the south by Mission Gorge Road, on the east by Magnolia Avenue, and on the west just past Town Center Drive. Hired consultant Mark Steele said the vision that developed from several public workshops held in Santee was for “an American village” with five distinct neighborhoods anchored by an Arts and Entertainment neighborhood.
Mayor John Minto said adopting the new plan that replaces the first specific plan of 1986 is one more step in a process of transforming the city to having “communities and amenities that are just dynamic enough for people to want to be here.”
Santee has been trying to change its image in recent years as not just a convenient shopping destination, but for enjoying the benefits of a concentrated group of restaurants, art galleries, and live performing venues that would attract both residents and visitors, as well as generate more sales tax revenue through visitors’ spending.
For the most part, that effort has failed. A lynchpin project, a Karl Strauss brewery/restaurant/office complex along the San Diego River behind Trolley Square approved more than a decade ago, was downsized to a tasting room, and even that is still in limbo. A combined movie theater/restaurant project called Studio Movie Grill planned to go next to Karl Strauss didn’t happen when the company went bankrupt. And a 97-room hotel at Trolley Square that was approved in 2023 got mired in litigation, and hasn’t broken ground.
The city’s longstanding summer concert series at Town Center Community Park is successful in drawing folks, and the city continues to bring in new restaurants, but some venues that have shuttered several years ago such as Mimi’s remain closed.
At least the city’s financial condition remains well in the black. In a report on the soon to be completed 2024-25 fiscal year, Finance Director Heather Jennings said the city should end up with a balance on its general fund of $16.7 million from a budget of about $64 million at the end of June. That essentially is a net profit on its revenues after paying expenses and provides Santee with an envious reserve balance of 27 percent of the total, well above a target threshold on reserves of 22 percent.
Among the main contributors to the city’s heftier balance sheet are some $206,000 more in property taxes that was projected; about $235,000 more in sales taxes; and $436,000 more in interest income. It is also saving money from job vacancies not being filled to the tune of $1 million, Jennings said in her report.
Among the unexpected expenditures listed in the report but not commented upon was $61,470 for “materials and supplies related to a cyber incident.”
East County News Service
February 27, 2025 (Washington D.C.) -- U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) joined 14 other Democratic Senators in urging senior Trump Administration officials to reverse the hiring and onboarding freeze of federal seasonal firefighters that they say threatens the safety of communities in California and across the nation. The Trump Administration’s January 20 hiring freeze of federal civilian employees inexplicably did not exempt federal seasonal firefighters, despite exempting other critical public safety personnel.
Federal seasonal firefighters risk their lives to protect communities and save lives. According to a press release issued by Padilla, "This hiring freeze is particularly dangerous as we ramp up staffing and training ahead of peak wildfire season.”
While Padilla secured a temporary pay raise for wildland firefighters in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, recruitment and retention remain significant challenges as firefighters work long hours with insufficient pay. The attrition rate of firefighters at the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) has been 45 percent over the past four years — making the hiring freeze at USFS, the Bureau of Land Management, and the National Park Service all the more dangerous.
“The Administration must not sacrifice the safety of the American people for the benefit of implementing a political agenda,” wrote the Senators. “We urge you to immediately reverse course, begin hiring and onboarding seasonal firefighters again, and continue supporting and growing the federal firefighting workforce. The bottom line is this: pausing the hiring and onboarding of federal seasonal firefighters — while historic wildfires destroy communities and upend livelihoods across the West — is simply irresponsible and dangerous. We will be woefully unprepared to fight the fires to come and instead will continue to see record levels of damage, ultimately costing communities and taxpayers even more at a time when the cost of living is already too high.”
Wildfires are increasing in frequency and destructiveness in California and across the nation. Last month, the devastating Southern California fires, including the Palisades and Eaton Fires, burned over 57,000 acres and destroyed over 16,200 structures, claiming the lives of at least 29 victims. Nationally, over 64,800 fires burned 9 million acres in 2024, up from approximately 56,500 wildfires and 3 million acres in 2023. The rise in catastrophic wildfires demands even more seasonal firefighter hiring — not a freeze.
In addition to Senators Padilla and Rosen, the letter was also signed by Senators Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Angus King (I-Maine), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).
Senator Padilla has consistently pushed to protect our wildland firefighting force. Last month, Padilla reintroduced the bipartisan Wildland Firefighter Paycheck Protection Act to protect the pay raise he secured for wildland firefighters in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. In 2023, Padilla and a bipartisan group of Senators urged Senate leadership to avoid mass resignations within the wildland firefighter ranks by ensuring the prompt passage of their bipartisan legislation. Padilla and a bipartisan group of Senators also urged the Biden Administration to establish a special pay rate for federal wildland firefighters to prevent staffing shortages and strengthen wildfire response efforts in 2022. Following that request, the Biden Administration announced a temporary pay raise. Additionally, Padilla’s Wildfire Emergency Act, announced last week, would establish a prescribed fire-training center in the West and authorize grants to support training the next generation of foresters and firefighters, among other important fire mitigation efforts.
Full text of the letter is available here.
By G. A. McNeeley
February 15, 2025 (El Cajon) - The El Cajon City Council, city staff, Heartland Fire Department and labor representatives came together on Wednesday to discuss possible short-term options, to staff a newly purchased fire engine, after a grant failed to fund.
Last year, the City Council explored options to augment fire and medical response coverage throughout the city. The Council directed staff to acquire an additional fire engine and seek a grant to fund the staff to operate that engine. Although the engine was acquired, the City was not successful in obtaining the grant. Their intent was to operate the engine (E-208) out of Station 8 as a full service vehicle, staffed with nine new employees. The grant would have paid for the majority of those employees.
On February 12, a workshop was held at the El Cajon City Council Chambers to discuss options that the City Council may wish to pursue in light of not receiving the grant. As part of its presentation, staff provided an update on data presented in 2024. The staff also presented short-term options for the City Council to consider.
Background Information
Staff reported that call volumes have been going up for the fire department in recent years.
For example, the fire department received 9,556 calls for response in 2003, 10,246 calls in 2008, 11,863 calls in 2013, 15,802 calls in 2018, 17,928 calls in 2023, and 17,574 calls in 2024.
Between 9:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. are the busiest hours for Heartland Fire Department in El Cajon.
El Cajon’s turnout time is an average of 2:00 minutes, with a total response average of 9:22 minutes. You can compare this to La Mesa and Lemon Grove, who have a turnout time with an average of 2:17 minutes and 2:05 minutes respectively, and a total response average of 10:47 minutes and 9:28 minutes respectively.
Turnout Time & Total Response per Station: Station 6 (1:56 & 9.21), Station 7 (1:57 & 10:57), Station 8 (2:08 & 9:03), and Station 9 (1:58 & 10:23).
2,512 calls were made in 2023, and 2,567 calls were made in 2024, into the city. That is a change of +2.2%. 1,743 calls were made in 2023, and 1,895 were made in 2024, outside of the city. That is a change of +8.7%. That is a difference of 769 calls in 2023, and 672 calls in 2024, or 2.1 calls per day in 2023, and 1.8 calls per day in 2024.
Aid that was provided between 2023 and 2024 into the city included Station 8 (596 to 546), Station 9 (477 to 496), Station 6 (394 to 416), and Station 7 (276 to 437).
Aid that was provided between 2023 and 2024 to other cities includes San Miguel (1,430 to 1,487), Lakeside (674 to 710), La Mesa (277 to 254), and Santee (131 to 116).
The total number of calls made to Congregate Care Facilities in 2023 was 1,648, and the total number of calls made in 2024 was 1,506. That was an average of 4.5 calls per day in 2023, and an average of 4.1 calls per day in 2024. An average of 2.8 calls per day in 2023, and 2.6 calls per day in 2024 were made between 8 AM and 8 PM. An average of 1.2 calls per day in 2023, and 1.3 calls per day in 2024 were given to Engine 8, while an average of 3.2 calls per day in 2023, and an average of 2.8 calls per day in 2024 were given to Engine 6, Squad 6, and Truck 6. The daily average of homeless related calls was 3.7.
In 2023, 2,540 calls were Low/Mid Acuity Medical (Squad Assessable), 1,286 calls were Complex Medical, and 918 calls were either Fire Related, Traffic Related, Hazard Mitigation, Equipment/Supervisor Required, or Rescue.
The Response Comparison by Station in 2023 and 2024, included Station 6 (9,327 to 9,032), Station 8 (4,773 to 4,747), Station 9 (2,041 to 1,706), and Station 7 (1,566 to 1,170).
Short-Term & Long-Term Goals
The long-term goal for El Cajon is to build a fifth fire station. Their short-term objectives include continuing to reduce citywide calls by using regional nurse navigation, congregate care facilities, and education, and reducing Engine 8 calls to reduce the strain off of Station 6 and reducing the imbalance of Charge Aid.
Their first short-term coverage option was to add an Advanced AMR at Station 8. The shifts would be 12 hours, and it would operate similarly to Squad 6, but with contracted staff. This would cost $612,149, and reduce calls by 1,750 (or $350 per call, and 4.8 calls per day). This also wouldn't help with training coverage.
Their second short-term coverage option was fully staffing Engine 208, for 7 days a week, and 12 hour shifts. This would cost $1,733,000, and would reduce calls by 2,220 (or $788 per call, and 6 calls per day). This would also come with hybrid staffing challenges.
Their third short-term coverage option was fully staffing Engine 208, with 24 hour shifts. This would cost $2,610,000, and would reduce calls by 3,050 (or $856 per call, and 8.35 calls per day). This would mean that the city would no longer be eligible for the SAFER grant.
Their last short-term coverage option was the one-third option, which involved extra staff on the A-Shift, but no extra staff on B-Shift or C-Shift (they’d have the same amount they already have). However, this option is explained better, later in the article. This would cost $870,000, and reduce calls by 1,575 (or $552 calls per call, and 4.3 calls per day). This would also come with hybrid staffing challenges.
Where might funding come from for any of the above?
The staffer provided examples of some city expenditures, which might potentially be reduced:
Code Enforcement and Online Permitting (2 Planners) costs $750,000. One Forensics Lab costs $1 Million. Four Recreation Centers cost $1 Million. Reducing Non-Public Safety Positions by 5% costs $1 Million. Fire Department Overtime costs $2.64 Million. The Finance Department costs $2.86 Million.
Opinions
Simon Garcia, labor representative for “The Local 46,” has been with the city since 2005. He said that they were inclined to go with the full engine staffing with city firefighters (not contracted with AMR).
“However, as a labor group, we’d like to collaborate with the city council, city staff, and the fire department in order to get to that goal.”
They were not in favor of the AMR unit, stating that this would be a disservice to the community. An AMR unit doesn't have the same training, and they can’t cover for city firefighters during their unit training. Garcia added, “Our department is very highly trained, and provides the best service to our community, and that would be a decrease in service in our opinion.”
They were also not inclined to go with the 12-hour option, because it was 66% percent of the cost, with 50% of the coverage.
However, they were also willing to compromise, by going with some partial staffing, and to try to reapply for the SAFER grant. With this option, they would start out with giving extra coverage to just the A-Shift. The idea they suggested was to slowly be able to hire extra coverage for the B-Shift, and then eventually the C-Shift.
Most of the speakers were in favor of the full staffing option, and said that the biggest obstacle is funding. Without going back to voters, for a quarter percent tax increase, the other option would be 5% cut in staffing across many city departments.
The Council directed City Manager Graham Mitchell to “prepare a budget plan on how to fund the full staffing of Engine 208, with the realization that hiring one company at a time may be more of a reality than the three it requires to run 24/7/365,” according to Mitchell.
The City also hopes to reapply for the SAFER grant this fall.
By Fire Chief Sam DiGiovanna
February 12, 2025 (Temecula) -- Come join us on February 23 at the beautiful South Coast Winery Resort and Spa in Temecula Ca. This event is supported by the California State Firefighters' Association: CSFA.
Smooth Jazz legend Dave Koz will be cohosting this event with Michael Paulo who have added Rick Braun, David Benoit, Chris Walker and Richard Elliott to our lineup. This will be the biggest smooth jazz event of the year and all for a good cause. All artists are donating their time and effort so you can enjoy great entertainment and help those that lost their homes and businesses in the LA fires.
There will be live & silent action items. All fundraising & ticket proceeds will go to help local charities the fire victims. Please come and show your support showing we care and stand together while sending a message of hope to those communities that are trying to recover.
Reserved seating sold out! Limited amount of General Admission seats available . This will sell out. Don’t wait to buy your tickets.
For artist line up and ticket link: TIX.COM. If you would like to purchase please call 951-764-1726. Proceeds to go directly to nonprofit charity.
The South Coast Winery is located at 34843 Rancho California Rd Temecula California 92591 www.apauloproductions.net.