But legislative leaders’ gas rebate proposal - the budget item likely of most interest to Californians contending with inflation at a four-decade high and skyrocketing gas prices - isn’t up for a vote today. Doing so will allow them to meet their June 15 deadline to pass a budget - and avoid missing their paychecks. Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMattersĪlthough Newsom and the state Legislature have yet to reach a budget deal for the fiscal year beginning July 1 - or a consensus on how to spend California’s unprecedented $100 billion surplus - lawmakers are today expected to pass a budget blueprint representing an agreement between Assembly and Senate Democrats. More money, more problems Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon and Senate Pro Tem Toni Atkins, both Democrats, speak together at a 2020 press conference. Tuesday and KPIX in San Francisco on Tuesday. Julie’s investigation will be featured in newscasts on CBS stations across California, including KOVR in Sacramento at 10 p.m. “People are leaving in droves,” said Battalion Chief Jeff Burrow. Meanwhile, firefighters say they routinely encounter problems getting workers’ comp insurance to cover their mental health care. Last year, 10% of Cal Fire employees quit. Firefighters often are fatigued from working four or more weeks at a time, exacerbating the risks of an already dangerous job. Gavin Newsom’s administration pumping more money into Cal Fire, staffing deficits persist as fires grow larger and more unpredictable, driven by climate change and drought. PART FOUR: A dangerous situation gets worse.“I felt trapped … I decided the only way to fix it was to kill myself,” Bahnmiller said. Battalion Chief Noelle Bahnmiller suffered from nightmares for months after a harrowing night in the Mendocino County wilderness, where a dangerous crown fire surrounded her and nearby colleagues, eight of whom were burned. PART THREE: A fire captain’s journey from terror to recovery.“Three co-workers in Cal Fire died last week. “I can’t tell you how many coworkers and longtime friends have killed themselves, and four times as many have attempted it in the last few years,” said Cal Fire Captain Tony Martinez. It was the same bridge where he and his crew had many times recovered the bodies of distressed people. Captain Ryan Mitchell had worked for 12 years at Cal Fire when, at the age of 35, he drove to a remote 450-foot-high bridge in San Diego County and jumped off. PART TWO: How a hard-charging California firefighter lost his last battle with suicide.
Another Cal Fire officer said 80% of his station house crew got divorced last year, blaming stress and time away from home. “I would be willing to bet that there’s suicidal ideation in half of our employees right now, and half of them have a plan to do it,” said Cal Fire Captain Mike Orton. Cal Fire doesn’t collect data on incidents of suicide or post-traumatic stress disorder among its employees, but in dozens of interviews, veteran firefighters agree the agency is facing a mental health epidemic. PART ONE: Understanding the scope of the problem.In her stunning five-month investigation Trial by Fire, CalMatters reporter and Pulitzer Prize winner Julie Cart uncovers a severe and unaddressed mental health crisis at Cal Fire.ĭespite the difficulty of discussing mental health, high-ranking battalion chiefs and captains opened up to Julie about their exhaustion from weeks on duty, their suicidal thoughts and the never-ending trauma and terror of seeing their colleagues injured or killed. A smoldering crisis has emerged at California’s firefighting agency, Cal Fire.Īs blazes intensify and California’s fire season grows longer, firefighters are increasingly fatigued, traumatized and overworked.