OROVILLE, Calif. - Oroville Mayor, Chuck Reynolds, confirmed with Action News Now that the city council had a closed session item about the possibility of Cal Fire taking over the city's emergency response.
Mayor Reynolds confirmed this was not supposed to go public. However, it was leaked to the public. The Mayor said this was a closed session item the council was going to discuss behind closed doors.
We reached out to Oroville Fire Captains who say they haven't heard anything about it, but when asked how they felt about the possibility of Cal Fire taking over, they said off-camera they just want to do their jobs and work for the community.
If you remember, the El Medio Fire Department closed down just three weeks ago on Christmas day — after 90 plus years of service to the community.
Oroville Fire and Cal Fire said they would split the area of El Medio that had over 1,500 calls in 2020. Of course, this is all still just discussion at this point within the council.
Cal Fire commented on the leaked possibility, it's business as usual for them until they're told differently.
The city of Oroville has yet to release its agenda for the next city council meeting that takes place on Jan. 19.