Fire Chief David Garrison surveyed fields of golden grass in Yolo County connected to him for generations.
He drove through Dunniganon a recent morning recalling fighting fires across the small area’s rolling wildlands early in his career. Garrison, chief of the Dunnigan Fire Protection District and sworn to protect about 1,300 residents, is among 15 rural district chiefs representing unincorporated parts of Yolo County. And he is among those on the front lines fighting for the survival of their district.
In these rural parts, firefighters do not just extinguish flames. They are often the fastest emergency medical providers, clear clogged roads and disperse sandbags as storms flood crumbling arteries. Each fire district, composed mostly of volunteers, steps up to ensure people’s survival as ambulances need at least 30 minutes to reach residents to provide critical care…