Logo courtesy of the Sutter County Fire Department

 

SUTTER COUNTY, CA (MPG) - Sutter County has reopened all of its fire stations after nearly three weeks of intermittent closures caused by a staffing shortage.

The Sutter County Fire Department returned all stations to service at 7 a.m. Sept. 10 after hiring three extra-help firefighters and seeing firefighters who had been on leave return to work.

The department began rotating station brownouts Aug. 25 as staffing fell to 50% of normal levels. At the time, the department had four fire engineer vacancies across its three stations and five additional employees on leave.

The county rotated the closures every 48 hours between Oswald Station 8, 1280 Barry Road in Yuba City, and Sutter Station 6, 2340 California St. in Sutter. County officials said the rotation sought to maintain emergency response coverage in rural areas despite the staffing shortage.

During the brownouts, the county recruited and interviewed additional personnel while accelerating its hiring process. Three extra-help firefighters have since joined the department.

“We appreciate the public’s patience and understanding as we worked through this staffing challenge,” Sutter County Fire Chief Kyle Long said. “Our priority throughout this process has been to maintain safe staffing for our firefighters while providing the best possible emergency response coverage to the community.”

The department does not anticipate additional station brownouts unless unforeseen circumstances affect staffing. Fire officials said they will continue monitoring staffing and operational needs.