Board Members and Staff: Congratulations on the District’s first anniversary! The following is a summary of activities and accomplishments since July 1, 2024:

• July 1- Operations began
• July 21- District participates in its first OES preposition- It lasts 24 hours.
• July 22- Preposition extension request denied- Lightning strikes start the Mill and Smith Fires- structures saved. Communities of Delleker, Portola City, Gold Mountain and White Hawk threatened. 3,000 acres burned with a suppression cost of $4,000 per acre.
• Honored the life and legacy of Captain Scott Thompson- 9407
• Preposition Staffed Shifts- 19 (24-hour shifts). Numerous calls responded to by staff, including a CPR save and response to fires- Bear Fire- Loyalton (structures saved).
• Major Incident Deployment Staffed Days-19 (24-hour shifts- Gold, Crozier, Bear, Airport).
• Total OES Reimbursements- $470,000- all payroll paid within the pay period worked.
• Enhanced staffing plan (Option D) established- testing/hiring process for three FT shift personnel and three BCs. Result- 24-hour staffing at Station 1 and consistent staffing for the East Battalion. Promotion of a Captain. Established Training Officer and Safety Officer positions. Big thank you to President Rich McLaughlin for his budget work and the Board’s support to implement enhanced staffing. This has tremendously improved our response times and ability to serve the Community.
• Conversion of District apparatus with updated County compliant re-numbering and new District logos.
• Branding of District with personnel uniforms, badges, patches. New turnouts proposed.
•  Merger with Eastern Plumas Rural Fire District- 3 Fire stations, 8 Apparatus. Numerous meetings with EPRFPD Board, LAFCO and Board of Supervisors. Achieved Tax Sharing agreement with Board of Supervisors. Thank you, Director Cary Curtis, for your tireless efforts to get this done with adequate financial support.
• Automatic Aid agreement with Graeagle FD.
•  Established a new policy manual through Lexipol and added the training platform Target Solutions (paid by Insurance carrier).
• Completed new salary survey for OES reimbursements.
• Hosted a District formation celebration and Christmas Dinner events.
•  Station signs designed and currently being made- installed
•  On-Boarded five new firefighters- two additional in progress.
• Participated in Community Events (Grizzly Community Firewise, Gold Mountain Annual Homeowners Meeting, Portola HS Homecoming Parade, Portola Christmas Parade, Loyalton Christmas and July 4 parades.
• Agreement with Cal Fire for dispatching assistance in the Hwy 395 corridor. Taking positive steps to form a lasting relationship for the future, which includes full time dispatching for the District.
• Established adequate insurance coverage for all District assets and nine fire stations, including Eastern Plumas Rural FD. Actively involved in working with District’s insurance advisor and GSRMA risk management manager to reduce liability and policy cost.
• Sold six surplus fire apparatus and returned three unused Federal Excess Program engines. Sales revenue towards purchase of water tender- $45k.
• Worked closely with the Plumas County Auditor to review fire tax exemption requests and assisted property owners with questions regarding their tax bills.
• Fundraiser event for Christmas tree sale.
• Responded to 706 calls since July 1. The first District response on 7/1 was a Lift Assist. (See attached call breakdown)
• Hired Administrative Assistant/Finance Officer Rose Comstock for 32-hour office staffing. The office is now staffed (with Chief) five days a week.
• Confirmation of $301,380 from FEMA Assistance to Firefighter Grant program for the installation of four diesel exhaust systems and two PPE washers. The focus was firefighter safety and cancer prevention.
• Granted $110,000 for extrication equipment from an Office of Traffic Safety Grant (Equipment purchase in September).
• Enhanced relationships with USFS, including a new response agreement which USFS responds to all fires and vehicle accidents automatically. USFS will respond to any of our emergency incidents upon request. We have the opportunity now to be hired for PNF cover assignments and response to fires.
• Hosted Training Classes- Wildland certification classes (5) and Operator 1A/ 1B (July).
• Submitted FEMA SAFER grant applications for full-time staffing and Volunteer Recruitment and Retention.
• Submitted FEMA Fire Prevention grant application for a public education Fire Safety Trailer, to be used County-wide.
• Created a Strategic Plan for the District’s future, which includes a new mission statement, values statement and strategic initiatives- led by Chief Forrest Craig..
• Prepared the 2025-26 Preliminary Budget- The first budget (24-25) was an overall success.
• Entered into an agreement with Gold Mountain CSD for operation of their fire engine and training their Fire Cadre as Fire District members, for wildland fire operations in the 2025 Fire Season.
• Worked with Truckee Meadows Community College Fire Academy to create a remote Firefighter 1 academy in East Plumas County (Set for January 2026)
• Prepared for Fire Season 2025 with training personnel and readying equipment.
• Purchased a water tender with enhanced capabilities for District needs and OES deployments.
• Sent a County-wide newsletter about the District to all property owners in the District, including the residents and property owners of the former Eastern Plumas Rural Fire District.
• Reduced fire apparatus inventory by selling 9 district acquired apparatus (2 Beckwourth, 4 Sierra Valley, 3 Eastern) and returning 5 unneeded Federally owned vehicles (2 Eastern, 2 Beckwourth, 1 Sierra). The District earned $59,438 from the sale of apparatus.

 Goals for 2025-2026

• Convert to full-time Cal Fire Dispatch (SIFC), which includes repeater installation and FCC licensing. BPFPD has achieved Board membership with the Lassen County Radio Group.
• Submit updated special fire tax calculations for all properties in the District.
• Present & Adopt Strategic Plan for Board Approval- Implement the first year of the new Strategic Plan strategic initiatives.
• Adopt Cost Recovery Ordinance
• Complete TMCC Hybrid Fire Academy- Firefighter 1 certification
• Organize and implement a Citizen’s Emergency Response Team (CERT- Support Group)