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 8

Christopher Wilson

Fire Captain/Forestry and Fire Protection

2023 total comp

$214,968

Sub-department: Forestry
Base pay: $87,238
Overtime: $43,633
Other pay: $84,097
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $214,968
Employment type: Full-Time
Union / bargaining unit: R08
Work county: Riverside
Middle name: J

Source-specific fields

Base Pay: $6,416
Cs/csu: Cs
Position Number: 5423121095606
Salary Total: $7,143
Total Pay: $214,968

Christopher Wilson is a Fire Captain at Forestry and Fire Protection within Forestry. They work full-time. 2023 total compensation came to $214,968. Union affiliation: R08.

Frank Ramirez

Fire Captain/Forestry and Fire Protection

2025 total comp

$214,946

Sub-department: Forestry
Base pay: $102,604
Overtime: $72,309
Other pay: $40,032
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $214,946
Employment type: Full-Time
Union / bargaining unit: R08
Work county: Ventura
Middle name: P

Source-specific fields

Base Pay: $8,483
Cs/csu: Cs
Position Number: 5423431095012
Salary Total: $8,675
Total Pay: $214,946

At Forestry and Fire Protection, Frank Ramirez serves as a Fire Captain within Forestry. They work full-time. Their 2025 pay totaled $214,946. They are represented by R08.

Michael Basic

Fire Captain/Forestry and Fire Protection

2024 total comp

$214,923

Sub-department: Forestry
Base pay: $81,404
Overtime: $84,842
Other pay: $48,677
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $214,923
Employment type: Full-Time
Union / bargaining unit: R08
Work county: Riverside
Middle name: J

Source-specific fields

Base Pay: $7,506
Cs/csu: Cs
Position Number: 5423121095517
Salary Total: $7,881
Total Pay: $214,923

At Forestry and Fire Protection, Michael Basic serves as a Fire Captain within Forestry. They work full-time. Their 2024 pay totaled $214,923. Union affiliation: R08.

Sean Johnson

Assistant Chief/Forestry and Fire Protection

2025 total comp

$214,923

Sub-department: Forestry
Base pay: $181,830
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $33,092
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $214,923
Employment type: Full-Time
Union / bargaining unit: S08
Work county: Shasta
Middle name: L

Source-specific fields

Base Pay: $13,674
Cs/csu: Cs
Position Number: 5422131039002
Salary Total: $15,443
Total Pay: $214,923

Sean Johnson holds the role of Assistant Chief at Forestry and Fire Protection within Forestry. Their status is full-time. In 2025, their total compensation was $214,923. Union affiliation: S08.

Andrew Askew

Fire Captain/Forestry and Fire Protection

2025 total comp

$214,856

Sub-department: Forestry
Base pay: $91,863
Overtime: $86,912
Other pay: $36,080
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $214,856
Employment type: Full-Time
Union / bargaining unit: R08
Work county: Fresno
Middle name: J

Source-specific fields

Base Pay: $7,694
Cs/csu: Cs
Position Number: 5424111095014
Salary Total: $7,652
Total Pay: $214,856

Andrew Askew is a Fire Captain at Forestry and Fire Protection within Forestry. They work full-time. 2025 total compensation came to $214,856. They are represented by R08.