California / Forestry and Fire Protection

Agency file

Forestry and Fire Protection

Source file: California — State Employee Compensation (SCO Payroll Data Warehouse, CPRA) / ingested Jul 4, 2026

The Forestry and Fire Protection provides fire protection and emergency response, including prevention, inspection, rescue, and medical aid.

In 2025, this agency had 13,250 employees with median total compensation of $111,787; the highest distinct record was $758,255.

Year: 2025
Total payroll: $1.6B
Employees: 13,250
Median total: $111,787
Highest record: $758,255

What the records show

Compensation analytics

These summaries compare pay within the agency before listing individual records.

Salary distribution

-$17,871$275,989+

Hover a bar for its range; click to filter the list below.

How 2025 total compensation is spread across the 13,250 employees. Each bar is a pay range; taller bars mean more people earn in that range. The amber line marks the median ($111,787) — half earn less, half more. The far-right bar collects the highest earners.

Average pay composition

Base — $67,565 (56%)
Overtime — $29,078 (24%)
Other — $24,792 (20%)
Benefits — $0 (0%)

What an average paycheck here is made of — base salary versus overtime, other pay (bonuses, allowances), and benefits. A large overtime or other-pay share means take-home often exceeds base salary.

Pay percentiles

10th

25th

Median

75th

90th

$44,634

$77,363

$111,787

$162,642

$207,686

The pay ladder for this department. Someone at the 90th percentile earns $207,686 — more than 90% of the department; the 10th percentile earns $44,634. The shaded band is the middle half of employees (25th–75th percentile).

Largest job titles

Fire Fighter I

3,835 · $84,139

Fire Captain

2,312 · $178,347

Fire Apparatus Engineer

1,952 · $129,762

Battalion Chief

549 · $207,553

Fire Fighter II

418 · $114,080

The most common job titles in this department by headcount, with the median total compensation for each. Click a title to see everyone who holds it.

Trend

Year over year

How this department's total payroll, headcount, and median pay changed across the 3 published years.

Year	Total payroll	Employees	Median pay
2023	$1.2B —	12,957 —	$81,412 —
2024	$1.4B ▲ 13.9%	12,674 ▼ 2.2%	$100,761 ▲ 23.8%
2025	$1.6B ▲ 13.6%	13,250 ▲ 4.5%	$111,787 ▲ 10.9%

Compare

Similar departments

Departments elsewhere with the most similar mix of roles — a proxy for the same kind of agency, matched by workforce composition rather than name. Pay is not cost-of-living adjusted.

Fire City of Greensboro80% match
Boston Fire Department City of Boston79% match
Cfd Operations City of Charlotte78% match
Fir Usd Fire Operations Metro Nashville76% match
Fire City of San Jose64% match
Fire Department Los Angeles County62% match

Record list

Employees

Page 30

David Hoong

Information Technology Specialist I/Forestry and Fire Protection

2025 total comp

$104,603

Sub-department: Forestry
Base pay: $96,571
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $8,032
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $104,603
Employment type: Full-Time
Union / bargaining unit: R01
Work county: Yolo

Source-specific fields

Base Pay: $8,671
Cs/csu: Cs
Position Number: 5410211402013
Salary Total: $8,411
Total Pay: $104,603

At Forestry and Fire Protection, David Hoong serves as a Information Technology Specialist I within Forestry. They work full-time. Their 2025 pay totaled $104,603. Their bargaining unit is R01.

Christian Barnes

Fire Fighter I/Forestry and Fire Protection

2025 total comp

$104,597

Sub-department: Forestry
Base pay: $48,090
Overtime: $31,311
Other pay: $25,196
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $104,597
Employment type: Full-Time
Union / bargaining unit: R08
Work county: San Diego
Middle name: M

Source-specific fields

Base Pay: $5,352
Cs/csu: Cs
Position Number: 5423141083901
Salary Total: $5,218
Total Pay: $104,597

At Forestry and Fire Protection, Christian Barnes serves as a Fire Fighter I within Forestry. They work full-time. Their 2025 pay totaled $104,597. Union affiliation: R08.

Anders Carlson

Fire Apparatus Engineer/Forestry and Fire Protection

2025 total comp

$104,591

Sub-department: Forestry
Base pay: $55,557
Overtime: $28,659
Other pay: $20,375
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $104,591
Employment type: Full-Time
Union / bargaining unit: R08
Work county: Napa

Source-specific fields

Base Pay: $5,847
Cs/csu: Cs
Position Number: 5421141077580
Salary Total: $5,701
Total Pay: $104,591

Anders Carlson holds the role of Fire Apparatus Engineer at Forestry and Fire Protection within Forestry. Their status is full-time. In 2025, their total compensation was $104,591. They are represented by R08.

James Bales

Battalion Chief/Forestry and Fire Protection

2023 total comp

$104,579

Sub-department: Forestry
Base pay: $43,448
Overtime: $1,636
Other pay: $59,495
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $104,579
Employment type: Full-Time
Union / bargaining unit: R08
Work county: Napa
Middle name: C

Source-specific fields

Base Pay: $7,447
Cs/csu: Cs
Position Number: 5421149723602
Salary Total: $7,820
Total Pay: $104,579

James Bales works as a Battalion Chief for Forestry and Fire Protection within Forestry. Their status is full-time. James earned $104,579 in 2023. Their bargaining unit is R08.

Trestin Kimbrell

Fire Apparatus Engineer/Forestry and Fire Protection

2025 total comp

$104,572

Sub-department: Forestry
Base pay: $57,909
Overtime: $25,772
Other pay: $20,891
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $104,572
Employment type: Full-Time
Union / bargaining unit: R08
Work county: Siskiyou
Middle name: P

Source-specific fields

Base Pay: $5,847
Cs/csu: Cs
Position Number: 5422141077901
Salary Total: $5,701
Total Pay: $104,572

Trestin Kimbrell is a Fire Apparatus Engineer at Forestry and Fire Protection within Forestry. They work full-time. 2025 total compensation came to $104,572. Union affiliation: R08.