Cal-FIRE’s Lassen-Modoc Unit has announced the appointment of native Lassen County resident Eric Ewing, who grew up here in the Honey Lake Valley, to the position of Unit Chief, giving him operational responsibility for a vast swath of northeastern California including Lassen, Modoc, Plumas and portions of Shasta and Siskiyou counties.
Ewing’s new Cal-FIRE unit consists of eight fire stations, one Helitack Base, three conservation camps and an inmate firefighter training center.
Fire suppression resources at his command include thirteen front-line fire engines, one helicopter, three bulldozers and fourteen inmate fire crews.
Lassen-Modoc shares an interagency emergency command center with federal agencies including the US Forest Service, National Park Service, and the Bureau of Land Management.
Chief Ewing began his 35-year career at the age of fourteen as an Explorer with the Susanville Fire Department, where he continued as a volunteer for the next 24 years.
He began with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection in 1992, fresh out of high school, as a seasonal firefighter working at Westwood, Susanville and Grasshopper stations.
In 1999, he was promoted to Fire Apparatus Engineer, working at Susanville, Grasshopper, and Bieber Stations.
In 2002, Ewing was promoted to Fire Captain, assigned to Alturas, Deersprings, Devils Garden Conservation Camp, and the Susanville Interagency Fire Center.
In 2012, he was promoted to the rank of Battalion Chief in charge of the Susanville Interagency Fire Center and then the Lassen County Office of Emergency Services.
In 2018, Chief Ewing was appointed Assistant Chief of Administration, assigned to Susanville Headquarters.
He currently serves as the Lassen County Fire Warden, Lassen County Office of Emergency Services Director, and the Lassen Operational Area Fire Rescue Coordinator.
Ewing says that he is proud to call Lassen County home, and is humbled to serve our counties in this capacity.
