Department profile
Career (Paid)California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection - Pajaro Valley
Watsonville, CA · Santa Cruz County. California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection - Pajaro Valley is a Career (Paid) department, 2 stations and 27 total personnel. According to the HIFLD fire-station federal registry (as of 2026-09), full equipment, coverage, and staffing data are below.
- 27
- Total personnel
- 2
- Stations
- Not reported
- Fire trucks
- No
- EMS service
The verdict
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection - Pajaro Valley pairs modest national personnel with a headcount below the California average.
- 47th pct.
- national personnel size
- -27%
- vs. California average
- 2
- stations
National percentile ranks this department's personnel headcount against every listable U.S. department with reported staffing; the state comparison uses the same personnel figure against its own state's average. Both feed the verdict sentence and the chips above.
A staffing, equipment, EMS-integration, and federal-grant-funding composite benchmarked against every other USFA-registered department nationally, not a safety rating, response-time measure, or comparison of fire risk. Dimensions with no data on file are excluded and their weight redistributed, never counted as zero.
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection - Pajaro Valley is a Career (Paid) department serving Watsonville, CA (Santa Cruz County), with 2 stations and 27 total personnel. According to HIFLD fire-station registry fields; among listable U.S. departments with reported personnel it ranks #11,961 of 22,440.
- National personnel rank #11,961 of 22,440
- CA personnel rank #409 of 721
- 7.41 stations per 100 personnel
- 14 other listed departments in Santa Cruz County
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection - Pajaro Valley vs. the national personnel distribution
Where this department's HIFLD-reported staffing sits among every listable U.S. fire department
27 Top 53% higher than 47% of 22,440 departments
Listable U.S. fire departments, banded by total personnel
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more departments. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source HIFLD fire-station registry · 2026-09-06
Dispatch plate
Sheet 44045 · California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection - Pajaro Valley, CA 27 personnel · 2 stations
PERS-SMALL · STA-FEW · TYPE-CAREER · EMS-N · RANK-MID · PHOTO-FINISH · FEMA-NONE · BOOK-FULL
- PERS-SMALL 27
- STA-FEW 2 stations
- TYPE-CAREER Career
- EMS-N No EMS flag
- RANK-MID #11,961
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Lennox
- FEMA-NONE No AFG/SAFER
- BOOK-FULL 4/5 fields
Nearest personnel peer: Lennox Fire Department, SD (+ 0 personnel)
Career/paid HIFLD roster counts, station rows, EMS flag, listable personnel rank, photo-finish peer, and FEMA AFG/SAFER book for this FDID, not a readiness rating.
Personnel neighbourhood
Nationwide HIFLD headcount poles and nearest peers, not a reprint of every CA department.
- California Depart… (this dept) 27
- High West Salem Volunt…, PA 27
- Near Lennox, SD 27
- Near Farrell Volunteer…, PA 27
- Near Jackson Center Vo…, PA 27
Department Profile
- Type
- MOSTLY PAID
- Location
- Watsonville, CA
- County
- Santa Cruz County
- FDID
- 44045
Staffing vs the California average
How California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection - Pajaro Valley's personnel count compares to the typical department in California. In-state it ranks #409 of 721 by personnel among listable departments with reported staffing. Nationally it ranks #11,961 of 22,440 on the same basis as the largest-departments ranking.
- Stations
- 2
- State fire deaths/yr
- 346
- CA departments
- 1,309
County roster fringe
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection - Pajaro Valley is 4.6% of Santa Cruz County roster mass
The county lists 22 departments totaling 587 personnel, so this roster is a small slice; 23% of county departments show EMS coverage. County / state rollup.
7.41 stations per 100 HIFLD personnel (2 stations / 27 roster).
Photo-finish peer: Lennox Fire Department, SD (+0 personnel).
No FEMA AFG/SAFER awards on this FDID in USAspending (empty federal book).
Nearby Departments
Nationwide career peers near 27 personnel
Photo-finish and same-type HIFLD neighbours for this FDID, not a reprint of every CA department.