Area Served[]
The San Diego Unit (SDU), formerly the Monte Vista Unit (MVU), of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection / CAL FIRE provides fire protection and life safety services in an area encompassing both San Diego and Imperial Counties, located on the southeast border of Southern California. San Diego County is a mixture of cosmopolitan/urban/rural development within the proximity of a wildfire prone environment. Imperial County, dominated with commercial agriculture operations is a desert region that rarely experiences wildland fires. Although the population of San Diego County and Imperial County exceeds 3.3 million, most of the population lives in San Diego County and resides in metropolitan areas within 20 miles of the coastline. Whereas the population that lives in Imperial County resides primarily in small towns and agriculture communities. SDU covers over 5.5 million acres, is responsible for 1.4 million acres of State Responsibly Area (SRA) for wildland fire protection, and is bordered by Riverside and Orange Counties, and the Palomar and the Santa Rosa Mountains to the north, the Cuyamaca and Laguna Mountains to the east, the Mexico border to the south, and the Pacific Ocean in the west. Imperial County lies directly east of San Diego County and is framed by the Santa Rosa Mountains and the Salton Sea and Colorado Desert to the north, the Colorado River and the state of Arizona to the east, the Mexico border to the south, and the Cuyamaca and Laguna Mountains in the west.
Mutual Aid[]
The San Diego Unit participates in the San Diego County Master Mutual Aid Agreement between all of the municipal fire agencies along with several smaller auto-aid and mutual-aid agreements with local fire agencies such as the Chula Vista Fire Department, and the Deer Springs Fire Protection District. In addition, the Unit has dispatch agreements with the Borrego Springs Fire Protection District, the Campo Reservation Fire Protection District, the La Jolla Reservation Fire Department, the Santa Ysabel Reservation Fire Department, Mercy Ambulance, Mercy Air, and Reach Air.
Department Profile[]
The CAL FIRE San Diego Unit Headquarters is located in the unincorporated area of San Diego County, near the city of El Cajon. The Unit Administration Offices, Mobile Equipment Repair Shop, Service Center, Inter-Agency Training Center, Inter Agency Communication Center, and the Monte Vista Fire Station 20 are all located on the 14-acre headquarters facility. The protection of 1.4 million acres of SRA wildland and urban interface, as well as areas under cooperative fire protection agreements, is provided by 17 “Blue Book” / Schedule B fire stations geographically located 15 to 20 miles apart. To manage the 18 fire stations, the unit is divided into seven battalions with a battalion chief managing two to three fire stations. In addition, there are 23 Schedule A (State Funded) fire stations. Of the 17 CAL Fire stations, 12 are full time co-operative stations and 5 are seasonal wildfire stations. During Peak Fire Season, the Unit has a work force of 332 permanent firefighters, augmented by 320 seasonal firefighters. The CAL FIRE San Diego Unit acts co-operatively with San Diego County Fire in providing response across the territory, including having a cooperative helicopter program with the San Diego Sheriff’s Department located in El Cajon and Fallbrook.
The San Diego Unit rotary wing program, based out of Gillespie airport / helitack base, is an interagency program operating three Type II helicopters. This is a unique program that combines San Diego County Sheriff pilots with CAL FIRE personnel. One of the three helicopters is staffed with a helitack crew, while the second aircraft provides an air rescue platform to perform rescue and firefighting missions. The third helicopter is utilized as a maintenance spare/surge capacity to ensure that there are always two helicopters operational.
Dispatch[]
The CAL FIRE San Diego Unit is a member of a regional fire and emergency services communication system called the San Diego Interagency Communications Center (SDICC), until March 1, 2022 known as the Monte Vista Interagency Communications Center (MVICC), located in the City of El Cajon, which provides dispatch services for several fire agencies in San Diego County.
California Task Force 8[]
The CAL FIRE San Diego Unit is a member agency of California Task Force 8 (CA-TF8).
Fleet[]
Currently, the CAL FIRE San Diego Unit is comprised of the following resources:
- 31 Type 3 wildland engines - Frontline (incl. 4 conservation camp engines)
- 5 Type 3 wildland engines - Reserve
- 4 Type 2 wildland bulldozers
- 7 Type 2IA Firefighter hand crews
- 4 CDC/CCC Type 2IA hand crews
- 1 Fuels reduction hand crew
History[]
| Station | Address | In Service | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| McCain Valley Conservation Camp No. 21 | McCain Valley Road | Closed | |
| San Marcos | 236 Pico Avenue, San Marcos | Closed | |
| Valley Center (71) | Coal Grade | Replaced by new Valley Center station. | |
| White Star (41) | 1684 Tierra Del Sol Road, Boulevard | Engine re-assigned, station unmanned | |
| Rainbow Conservation Camp | 8215 Rainbow Heights Road, Fallbrook | 1946-2021 | Conservation camp closed, became the Rainbow Fire Center. In 1983, Rainbow was the first CC converted to house female inmates. |