CAL FIRE Director Thom Porter will retire next month, after serving atop the agency for two of the biggest wildfire seasons in the state's history.
Porter said in an email to employees that the decision to step down on Dec. 10 was "bittersweet," a CAL FIRE spokesperson confirmed to KCBS Radio on Monday. Capital Public Radio first reported Porter's decision.
"I will be returning to San Diego to focus on family, aging parents, and self," Porter wrote in an email to his colleagues, which an agency spokesperson with KCBS Radio. "A piece of my heart is and will always be with CAL FIRE. You have been my home away from home."
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office didn't respond to an emailed request for comment from KCBS Radio prior to publication. California Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot called Porter "remarkable."
Former Gov. Jerry Brown appointed Porter as CAL FIRE's interim director on Dec. 14, 2018, while Newsom named Porter to run the office on the former’s first day in office on Jan. 8, 2019. During Porter’s tenure, wildfires over the last two years alone have burned over 7.4 million acres as the state contends with the consequences of climate change.
Twenty-one people died in the 2020 Lightning and August complexes, two of the 20 deadliest blazes in the state’s history. Seven of the state's 20 most destructive wildfires occurred while Porter led the agency, as did nine of the top 20 largest. Five of the seven biggest burned in 2020 alone.
Porter said he "couldn't be more proud" of the "poise and performance under the strain" CAL FIRE workers had "endured" during his three years leading the agency.
"Improving your health and wellness is one of my main goals," he wrote. "Please continue to strive for better and utilize the resources available to you. Look out for yourselves, each other, and your families."
It's unclear whom the governor will appoint to replace Porter. Capital Public Radio reported on Monday that Chief Deputy Director Craig Tolmie will also retire next month. Tolmie has worked for CAL FIRE since 1999, according to the agency's website.
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