New Fire Unit Chief
San Andreas, CA – May first sparked the start of the 2013 fire season and also brought a new Chief to head the Cal Fire Tuolumne-Calaveras Unit. Josh White will replace former TCU Unit Chief, Brian Kirk who retired in March of this year.
Chief White says fire prevention is important especially with our very dry conditions and has this reminder, “Burn permits are required and burning is restricted to the hours of 7 p.m. to 8 a.m. on permissive burn days.”
White began his career in 1988 as a Firefighter I. He has worked a variety of jobs at State and County fire stations, Conservation Camps, Fire Prevention, Civil Cost Recovery, Law Enforcement, Safety, and Research and Development. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminal Justice.
Also at this time Cal Fire has begun to open and start staffing its seasonal fire stations on a 24-hour basis. The Columbia Air Base is also open and staffed with a helicopter.
Chief White encourages residents to continue to work on their defensible space and suggests alternatives to burning such as recycling, composting or chipping debris.
