By Engage Tuolumne Published: January 16, 2026
The following are remarks made during the 3-hour discussion at the Jan. 6 Board of Supervisors meeting about the county’s CAL FIRE contract for fiscal year 2026-2027.
Good Morning,
My name is Mario Torres. I represent CAL FIRE Local 2881 members as the union Chapter Director in Tuolumne-Calaveras Unit. I have been a local Tuolumne County resident since elementary school and have been proud to serve this community since 2006.
I’m here to speak in strong support of the CAL FIRE-Tuolumne County Fire contract. This partnership is not just a budget line item — it is the backbone of the fire service in this county and our members have built Tuolumne County Fire with pride since our partnership began in 1977.
Tuolumne County faces some of the most challenging fire conditions in the state including rugged terrain, increasing wildfire seasons, remote communities, non-sprinklered homes, increasing tourism and new developments. Because of this contract, we are able to provide professional 24-hour fire protection with five engine companies staffed with two people, advanced fire ground training and seamless mutual aid when major incidents occur.
When someone calls 911, they care about two things,
- How fast is help coming? and
- Are they prepared to save my family?
Our community expects excellence and our CAL FIRE members provide it everyday. This partnership ensures that help arrives quickly, provides in shape and highly trained firefighters that show compassion while assisting our community. Our contract also makes fiscal sense. With budget shortfalls projected, looking into replacing CAL FIRE with private fire fighting companies is wrong and is an insult to our professional firefighters.
Developing a different model without CAL FIRE would go against all past Grand Jury reports and coverage studies; require hiring, training, managing dozens of additional TC employees; unfunded PERS liability for employees would be assumed by Tuolumne County instead of CAL FIRE, dispatching costs and building an entire administrative and operational structure, just to name a few. This cost would far exceed the cost of maintaining our partnership — while providing less protection to our county.
The people behind the badge are important. A large portion of CAL FIRE members serving our county live here. Our kids go to school here. We coach kids in sports, shape futures for our youth and provide mentorship to new fire fighter recruits. We shop in local stores, volunteer and stand watch over our communities when their worst days arrive, all while solving issues daily and bringing calm to the chaos.
Your Local 2881 firefighters should be valued as a core government essential service. Every decision this board makes today shapes the safety of Tuolumne County into the future. It means choosing preparedness over risk and stability over uncertainty. I urge you to plan for expansion, keep our firefighters safe with future minimum three-person engine staffing and provide future fire station development to properly house 24/7 engine companies. The CAL FIRE contract is working. God bless our county and please make the right decision and support our Tuolumne County Fire partnership with CAL FIRE.
THANK YOU,
Mario Torres
Chapter Director
Tuolumne-Calaveras Chapter
mariovtorres2881@gmail.com
Ridgewood Neighborhood Association 