Fire Crews & Heavy Equipment

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Washington Ridge Conversation Camp 

Washington Ridge Camp (WAR) is a well maintained and robust facility located just 10 miles northeast of Nevada City.  The camp services all of Nevada and Yuba Counties and portions of Placer, Butte, Sutter, El Dorado, and Sierra Counties. 

WAR is a 100 man capacity CDCR inmate camp built and staffed in 1961 in cooperation with the California Youth Authority.  The Camp transitioned from to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation in 2005 staffing 5 adult inmate crews.  The camp, at peak staffing, averaged approximately 5,000+ fire hours per year. 

Washington Ridge crews are a critical resource used in the communities across Nevada County. WAR crews donate time to non-profit groups such as Nevada County Senior Firewood Project, Tall Pines School, and Nevada City Little League, to give back to the local community.  Fuels reduction project hours for Washington Ridge Camp total over 4000 hours per year when at peak staffing.

California National Guard-Task Force Rattlesnake Crew 23

In 2020 CAL FIRE and the State of California Military Department entered into a Memorandum of Understanding to provide fire crews to accomplish fire-prevention and fire-fighting training mission support.  Joint Task Force Rattlesnake was established to accomplish this goal.  The Nevada Yuba Placer Crew (CNA 23) is based in Nevada City and is comprised of a minimum of 15 and a maximum of 24 personnel.  The crew is led by 2 CAL FIRE Captains and responds in an Emergency Crew Transport.  CNA 23 is a Type I hand crew that routinely responds to local fires and emergency incidents.  

When not engaged in emergency response, this crew is heavily committed to fuel reduction efforts across the Unit.  Their motivation and quality of crewmembers make them a formidable resource.

Placer Fire Center – CCC

On May 1st of 2016, CAL FIRE and the California Conservation Corps signed an agreement for cooperative staffing of two type I fire crews at the Placer Center.  The CCC’s provide a Conservationist 1 (C-1) and 12-17 Corp Members per crew.  CAL FIRE provides a Division Chief, and seven Fire Captain B’s.  

CAL FIRE's dozer/transport fleet 

The dozer fleet is comprised of four specialized frontline dozer units including response out of station 10. All CAL FIRE dozers are transported via dozer transports equipped with emergency lighting for Code 3 response. 

 Learn more with this equipment fact sheet.