2026 Fire Season Equipment Campaign - Southern California Wildfire Response (SCWR)

PREPARED FOR THE NEXT ALARM

Professional firefighters who forgo a paycheck for the community. Local resources. Ready when needed.

SCWR is raising $400,000 to put a water tender, a wildland patrol apparatus, and critical communications and protective equipment into service across Los Angeles.

THE NEED

Southern California Wildfire Response (SCWR) operates as a community wildland fire department serving neighborhoods and wildland areas throughout the Los Angeles region.

Our firefighters conduct wildfire patrols, respond to emerging incidents, support evacuations and major emergencies, and provide additional resources when the region’s emergency-response system is stretched.

As our responsibilities have grown, so has the need for equipment capable of supporting them. This campaign funds four priorities firefighters can put to work directly: a water tender, a wildland patrol apparatus, all-band radios, and complete wildland protective equipment.

Mobile Water Supply

$250,000

Frontline Wildland Patrol

$100,000

Multi-Agency Comms

$8,000

Firefighter Protective Gear

$2,500

WHY NOW

Southern California’s wildfire environment requires preparation before the next major incident begins.

SCWR patrols high-risk wildland and wildland-urban interface areas, particularly during periods of elevated fire danger. These patrols place firefighters and equipment in the field where emerging incidents can be identified, reported and addressed quickly.

The January 2025 Los Angeles fire disaster showed why additional local capacity matters. As municipal resources were committed across multiple major incidents, SCWR personnel were deployed throughout the San Fernando Valley and other affected areas, assisting with evacuations, medical incidents, fire response and community protection.

THE CAMPAIGN

Water tender ($250,000)

campaign priority

Water is one of the most fundamental limitations of wildland firefighting. Many threatened areas have limited or nonexistent hydrant infrastructure. A water tender lets firefighters transport a substantial mobile supply into these environments and run water-shuttle operations supporting engines in the field. Carrying roughly 2,500 gallons, it’s requested on incidents of every size — from a single-engine vegetation fire that needs a refill source to a major incident running a sustained water shuttle — because that supply has to get there somehow when there’s no hydrant to draw from.

Wildland and vegetation fires
Water supply where hydrants don’t reach
Extended incidents and mutual aid
Structure protection

Wildland patrol + attack apparatus ($100,000)

campaign priority

A Type 6 wildland engine built for direct attack, sized and geared to get where a standard fire engine can’t — down narrow fire roads, steep grades, and tight brush-lined access that stops larger apparatus cold. That access is exactly why agencies call for a resource like this on active incidents: it can push into terrain other engines have to stage outside of and start direct attack while the fire is still small, instead of waiting for a route a bigger rig can use.

Reaches terrain standard engines can’t access
Direct-attack capable, not observation-only
Requested by agencies specifically for that access advantage
Staffed presence before conditions turn

All-band/Multi-Agency Radio ($8,000 per firefighter)

On a wildfire, communication is a piece of safety equipment. LA County Fire, Cal Fire, LAFD, and LAPD all operate on different radio systems — without cross-band capability, a single firefighter working a multi-agency incident might otherwise need to carry four or five separate radios just to stay in contact with everyone on scene. One professional all-band public-safety radio replaces that stack, letting a firefighter communicate across every system encountered during emergency operations, coordinate resources, and stay in contact as an incident changes agencies or jurisdictions.

$8,000 equips one position
$16,000 equips two
$40,000 equips five

Wildland protective gear ($2,500 per firefighter)

Before our firefighters can protect anyone else, they need equipment that protects them. A complete set of operational wildland PPE places gear directly onto a firefighter who will use it in the field — one of the most tangible investments a donor can make.

$2,500 equips one firefighter
$5,000 equips two
$10,000 equips four

$100,000

Apparatus Sponsor

A $100,000 investment could fully fund SCWR’s planned wildland patrol apparatus, or provide 40% of the funding required for the department’s water tender.

It could equip firefighters across the department with communications equipment and protective gear instead. Major supporters may work directly with SCWR leadership to identify the operational priority where their contribution has the greatest impact — and when appropriate, discuss meaningful recognition tied to major equipment and apparatus investments.

Giving Levels

$2,500 equips a firefighter – Funds approximately one complete set of wildland PPE.
$5,000 equips two firefighters – Provides approximately two complete sets of wildland PPE.
$8,000 sponsors communications – Funds approximately one all-band public-safety radio.
$10,000 prepares four firefighters – Outfits about four firefighters with PPE, or supports communications and frontline equipment.
$25,000 sponsors operational capability – A major contribution toward communications, equipment or apparatus.
$50,000 closes the gap – Funds a significant portion of the patrol apparatus or water tender.
$100,000 places an apparatus – Fully funds the patrol apparatus, or 40% of the water tender.

These levels are examples, not limitations. A gift of $100, $1,000, $10,000 or any other amount becomes part of the same mission: putting trained firefighters and capable equipment into the field when Southern California needs them.

Built to Serve

SCWR’s growth has always been driven by operational need. Our firefighters don’t wait until a major wildfire is burning to begin preparing for it — equipment is maintained, personnel train, patrols are staffed, communications systems are built, relationships are established. Then, when conditions deteriorate, those investments become operational resources. This campaign is the next step.

Water Tender | More water where hydrants don’t exist.
Patrol Apparatus | Another resource ready during critical fire-weather conditions.
Radio | Another firefighter connected in the field.
PPE | Another firefighter properly equipped to serve, safely.

Help put the next resource in service

SCWR is seeking community members, families, businesses and philanthropic partners who believe in strengthening local wildfire preparedness. Every contribution — a single firefighter’s gear, a radio, a share of an apparatus — matters to the department.

Donate by Credit Card

Mail checks to: Southern California Wildfire Response, 520 S Sepulveda Blvd #403, Los Angeles, CA 90049

Questions?

Email [email protected] or call (213) 583-0058.

See the impact. Follow @SoCalWildfireHQ on Instagram.