California Is Re-Equipping All 13 of Its Swiftwater Rescue Teams Ahead of a Possibly Historic El Niño Winter

With forecasters warning of a potentially powerful El Niño winter, California is putting new flood-rescue gear in the hands of the local firefighters who get called when rivers rise and roads go under.

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Thursday that the Governor's Office of Emergency Services, known as Cal OES, is replacing and modernizing equipment for all 13 teams in the state's Swiftwater Rescue Program. The teams are staffed by local government firefighters and are based with 13 fire departments around the state, according to the governor's office.

What the teams are getting

Each upgraded Type 1 team is set to receive a new heavy-duty four-wheel-drive tow vehicle, a new rescue trailer, two motorized inflatable rescue boats, updated protective equipment for working in dangerous water, and specialized rescue tools. Newsom and Cal OES Director Caroline Thomas Jacobs were briefed on the new vehicles and equipment in Mather, near Sacramento.

The teams handle flash flooding, flooded roadways and fast-moving rivers in their home communities. Through the California Fire and Rescue Mutual Aid System, they can also be sent elsewhere when an emergency outgrows local resources, which is how Cal OES moves specialized crews around the state during big disasters.

"Our goal is simple. Make sure California's firefighters have the necessary equipment available before communities need them," Thomas Jacobs said in the announcement.

Why now

The governor's office cited federal forecasts giving El Niño a greater than 90% chance of becoming a very strong event this fall and winter, and a 75% chance of reaching historic strength. That can mean repeated rounds of heavy rain, flooding, landslides and debris flows, along with coastal flooding when storms coincide with high tides.

The equipment announcement follows the opening of a modernized State Operations Center and a satellite-imaging agreement meant to give emergency managers near-real-time views of flooding, even through clouds. The governor's office also contrasted the state's spending with a proposed $1.3 billion cut to FEMA in the president's 2027 budget.

State officials urge residents to prepare now: know whether they live in a flood zone, clear drains and gutters, sign up for local emergency alerts and make a family plan before the first big storm arrives.