The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service Pacific Southwest Region and Cal Fire have renewed the California Fire Master Agreement — extending a long-standing framework for mutual wildfire response and cooperative risk-reduction work across California for the next five years.

The agreement was signed Dec. 12 by Pacific Southwest interim Regional Forester Jacque Buchanan and Cal Fire Chief Joe Tyler.

It continues a multi-agency approach that allows firefighters to respond across jurisdictional boundaries and share personnel, equipment and resources during wildfire emergencies.

“This complex operating environment within California and the challenges we face year-round require this collaborative approach, and we’re committed to partnering and working together both to prepare for and respond to wildfires,” said Jaime Gamboa, fire director for the Forest Service’s Pacific Southwest Region.

Under the agreement, Forest Service and Cal Fire firefighters operate side by side on wildfires and work together on hazardous fuels reduction projects designed to lower future wildfire risk. 

The agreement also streamlines training, dispatching and the sharing of firefighting staff, facilities and equipment, including aerial resources such as air tankers and helicopters.

The agreement prioritizes sending the closest available firefighting resources to a wildfire — regardless of jurisdiction — to better protect lives, property and natural resources. 

While focused on wildland fire response, the agreement can also be used during declared disasters to support broader emergency operations.

Forest Service firefighters responded to more than 8,000 wildfires in the Pacific Southwest Region this year, with more than 96% of fires contained during the first operational period. 

Officials credit the mutual aid system established through agreements like this one as a key factor in rapid initial attack and successful suppression.

The Forest Service manages 18 national forests in the Pacific Southwest Region, encompassing over 20 million acres across California, and assists landowners in California, Hawaii and U.S.-affiliated Pacific Islands. National forests supply 60% of the water in California and form the watershed of most major aqueducts and more than 2,400 reservoirs throughout the state.