On Tuesday, January 14, 2025, the County Board of Supervisors voted to dissolve the South Santa Clara County Fire District (unincorporated County areas), which currently receives its services via a contract with CalFire. The Board proposes to replace this service with that of the Santa Clara County Fire Department.
This proposal will be presented to the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO), which will assess how the County will deliver services in those areas moving forward. Evaluation processes through LAFCO typically take anywhere from 6 to 18 months. In this circumstance, both the Board of Directors for the South Santa Clara County Fire District and the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors are in agreement with this proposed action. This agreement may affect the timing of the LAFCO process, but the exact timeline is undetermined at this time. Part of this process includes having community forums and involving the stakeholders who may be affected by this change, which would include the City of Gilroy.
Should this proposed action be approved through LAFCO, a transition would occur, transferring fire services from the contract with Cal Fire to the Santa Clara County Fire Department. The existing contract with Cal Fire is slated to expire on June 30, 2025.
In the event the transition of service providers is approved, the Santa Clara County Fire Department has indicated they have no intention of closing the Tree Haven or Masten Avenue stations in the Gilroy area. Their intent is to maintain these stations and the service levels currently provided.
More information will be provided as it becomes available.