Kern County approves agreement to absorb California City fire services in $4.56 million deal

The Kern County Board of Supervisors voted Dec. 16 to approve a proposed agreement for the Kern County Fire Department to provide fire protection and enforce state fire marshal regulations for California City from Jan. 1, 2026, through June 30, 2028, in an amount not to exceed $4,561,904.

A county presenter described the agreement as bringing California City in line with other contract cities and said the arrangement would add 11 firefighters and 9 paramedic firefighters to the Kern County Fire Department. "This agreement will bring California City in line with all other cities, and Kern County Fire Department will be their fire department," the presenter said.

Union representatives from California City and Kern County spoke in favor of the transfer. Kyle Griffith, president of the California City Professional Firefighters, said his members welcomed being "absorbed by Kern County Fire Department" and thanked county staff. Jesse Waldowski, president of Kern County Firefighters Local 131, expressed gratitude for open negotiations and said he expected the California City firefighters to integrate with county crews.

Supervisor Parlier moved to approve the agreement and Supervisor Peters seconded; after no public comments the chair called for the vote and announced the motion was approved.

The county said the arrangement includes three fire captain positions, three fire engineer positions and five firefighter positions reflected in the recommendation, and recommended referral to human resources for processing. The agreement was described as effective Dec. 27, 2025, for cost-center setup and beginning Jan. 1, 2026, for operational coverage.