CAL FIRE Tulare Unit

05/31/2026

Please join us on congratulating the following individuals from the Tulare Unit on their recent graduation from CAL FIRE’s Company Officer Academy:
-Engineer Robert Galaviz
-Engineer Jesus Calvillo
-Engineer Landon Hollman
-Engineer Joseph Ramirez
-Engineer Luis Lozano
Congratulations to you all! ✨

05/26/2026

Last week we had the absolute honor of having Battalion Chief Gates attend the graduation ceremony for the Valley ROP Wildland Fire program as the keynote speaker. This graduation ceremony not only marks the end of these students’ dedication and commitment to the wildland firefighting training program provided by Valley ROP, but also the beginning of their journey towards starting a career in wildland fire with their newfound education and passion. We are excited to see where these students go from here and hope to see them out on the fire line! 🔥

05/20/2026

Auto-aid agreements at work!🔥
Yesterday afternoon our auto-aid agreement with Farmersville City Fire Department was utilized and CAL FIRE Tulare Unit responded to a large vegetation fire that extended into a structure and several vehicles on the south side of Farmersville City.
Auto-aid agreements between fire departments allow for a quick response and aid received from neighboring departments when local resources are needing assistance on emergency incidents.

05/18/2026

Mountain Home Demonstration State Forest will be opening for the 2026 season on Friday, May 22nd.

Please see the above news release for further details.

05/18/2026

05/12/2026

The Campbell Incident:
Crews will remain at scene for the next several hours continuing mop up operations on a wildland fire that broke out just after 3pm this afternoon in the area of Campbell Creek Dr and Frazier Valley Rd - north east of Lake Success. The fire has been contained at 1.72 acres.
Auto-Aid assistance provided by: Tulare County Fire, Farmersville City Fire and Sequoia National Forest

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

05/06/2026

Agency partnership and coordination 🤝

This past week CAL FIRE Tulare Unit was invited by CALTRANS District 6 to come and speak at their annual Spring Stand Down Event. This event was a great opportunity to speak between our agencies regarding wildfire safety and awareness as we enter fire season.

05/03/2026

Please join us on congratulating Captain Robert Welker as this year’s award recipient of being CAL FIRE Tulare Unit’s Firefighter of the Year! 🏆

Robert Welker began is CAL FIRE career in March of 2014. When he promoted to Captain into the Tulare Unit in 2022 his assignment was at the Tulare Fire Center where he continues to work. Robert has demonstrated a diverse skillset, leading Engine Companies, Hand Crews and he is very involved in the training program. Robert helps instructs all the Tulare Unit Fire Fighter 1 rehire academies, as well as a variety of other classes. Robert also is a contractor, helping remodel the Tulare Unit Headquarters, multiple facilities at the Tulare Fire Center and helping lead the charge on the remodel of our stand at the Tulare Fairgrounds. Robert is a selfless employee, helping all new fire fighters and supporting the new leadership in the Tulare Unit. Robert leads the Joint Apprenticeship Committee training, ensuring all of our new and experienced Engineers are ready to become Captains.

A big thank you to the Knights of Columbus for hosting this event and giving us the opportunity to recognize the incredible personnel that work in public safety here in the Central Valley.

04/28/2026

Recently a large section of a special tree began its next chapter. 🌲
This section belongs to a Giant Sequoia that was growing up at our local Mountain Home State Demonstration Forest and is estimated to have been over 1,500 years old. Unfortunately, this Giant Sequoia succumbed to the 2020 SQF Complex Fire that went through the Balch Park area and was felled to eliminate the hazard to the public. This tree’s legacy is starting its next chapter by now providing educational tree rounds that showcase a remarkable array of historic fire scars that this tree experienced over its lifetime. The tree section was recently loaded up in Springville and began its trip to Arborica in Petaluma where it will be prepared and cut into two separate sections; one will go on display in the new CNRA building in Sacramento and the other will go on display at the Smithsonian Museum. We would like to give a shout out to a few key players that have helped this process move forward: Dave Sapsis and Chris Kiethley from FRAP, Brandon Collins and Dr. Scott Stephens from UC Berkeley, Mountain Home Demonstration State Forest (Jim Kral, Manager and Kevin Conway, Program Manager at the time), Guy Van Gaasbeek (LTO), Kyle Minor (CAL FIRE TUU Heavy Fire Equipment Operator), and Brian Gates (Arborist).

04/24/2026

Hazard reduction burning is suspended in Tulare County effective Saturday, April 25th, 2026.