The Crisis in Mariposa County Fire

By Stanley Bissmeyer

(Candidate for District 1 Supervisor)

Protecting citizens from fire is one of local government’s most fundamental responsibilities. Yet Mariposa County’s rural fire protection has been allowed to deteriorate as stations lose volunteers, engines and staffing.

This is not an argument against CAL FIRE, Firewise, defensible space or home hardening. All are valuable. But prevention is not the same as fire suppression. When a home catches fire, residents need a trained crew and a working engine close enough to respond.

Jerseydale demonstrates the problem. Its last two volunteers left around 2021–22. In 2022, then-Fire Chief Steven Ward told the Board of Supervisors that only nine of thirteen stations had personnel, with just 31 responders and 16 drivers countywide. Greeley Hill, Catheys Valley and Hunters Valley already had no volunteers. Since then, other stations have closed or struggled with staffing.

That same summer, the Oak Fire swept through the Midpines/Jerseydale area. Structure defense depended heavily on state and out-of-county strike teams. Five weeks later, Chief Ward presented the Board with staffing alternatives, including extra-help personnel, staffed stations and CAL FIRE contract crews. Yet a permanent solution to restore Jerseydale’s local fire company was not adopted.

The Volunteer Model Is Breaking Down

Today’s firefighters face substantially greater training and certification requirements. Those standards exist for legitimate safety reasons, but they also make the traditional rural volunteer model increasingly difficult.

We cannot simply blame residents for “not volunteering.” If becoming an operational firefighter or driver requires extensive training, medical screening, certifications and continuing commitments, we need a system that recognizes those realities.

Mariposa County should develop multiple pathways for service: trained firefighters and driver/operators, paid-call or reserve personnel, medical responders, and support volunteers. Not everyone needs to perform every job for someone to make a valuable contribution.

This Also Affects Homeowners

Fire protection capability is one factor considered in community fire-protection ratings and insurance decisions. The distance to functioning fire resources, available personnel, equipment, water supply, training and response capability all matter.

Home hardening, vegetation management and Firewise programs can reduce the likelihood that a structure ignites. They cannot replace firefighters arriving with an engine and water when a structure is already burning.

That distinction matters to rural homeowners.

What I Believe the County Should Do

As District 1 Supervisor, I would advocate for a comprehensive review of our fire protection system and make structure protection a clear county budget priority.

The county should:

1. Develop a current response-time and fire-coverage map showing actual staffed and unstaffed stations.
2. Establish paid-call, reserve or scheduled staffing where volunteer coverage is inadequate.
3. Develop a plan to reopen closed stations where population, geography and response times justify them.
4. Create separate firefighter, driver, medical and support-volunteer tracks so residents can serve according to their training and abilities.
5. Establish a strong countywide training program and explore incentives that make service practical for working families.
6. Review the relationship between county structure protection and CAL FIRE management to determine the most effective system for Mariposa County.
7. Add dedicated medical-response vehicles where appropriate, reducing unnecessary use of fire engines for routine medical calls.
8. Treat structure-fire protection as an essential county service, not something homeowners can replace through defensible-space programs alone.

Firewise, chipping programs, home-hardening grants and vegetation management deserve continued support. But they must complement—not replace—a functioning fire department.

This is ultimately about priorities. We should determine what level of protection Mariposa County residents need, what it will realistically cost, and then build a sustainable system capable of delivering it.

A fire station without firefighters and an engine is only a building.

Our rural communities deserve better.