Canyon Lake Fire Department reports busiest year to date and flags turnout-time review

Canyon Lake’s fire chief reported a busy December and the department’s busiest year to date during the council meeting. The department responded to 94 incidents in December and 1,120 responses for 2025 overall, the chief said, adding that 69 of the December calls were medical aids and the department had its busiest year in four years.

Operational metrics showed an average turnout time of 1 minute 12 seconds, travel time of 5 minutes 13 seconds and an average total response time of 6 minutes 19 seconds for December. For medical calls at the 90th percentile, the chief reported a turnout time of 2:05, travel time of 7:01 and total response time of 8:20 — the first time the department did not meet its internal turnout goal. The chief said staff are reviewing incidents and expect improved times next month.

The department provided mutual aid outside the city, participated in community events (Donuts with Santa, toy drive), and will host a free fire-hardening landscaping workshop Feb. 5 and CERT training in February. The chief recognized John Sassy as firefighter of the year and Michael Longo Barto as reserve firefighter of the year and announced the department will support services for a fallen CAL FIRE engineer.

Council members thanked the department and asked staff to convey council condolences to CAL FIRE personnel. The chief said registration details for workshops and a QR code on the flyer are available.