Cal Fire appoints new CZU fire chief for the county

FELTON >> A new chief has taken the helm this week of the Cal Fire San Mateo-Santa Cruz Unit in the wake of long-time Chief Ian Larkin’s retirement.

Cal Fire Director Thom Porter has appointed Nate Armstrong, who previously served as Cal Fire CZU’s deputy chief of operations, to his new unit chief role.

According to a Cal Fire media release, Armstrong has 22 years of fire service experience with the agency’s operations, paramedic services, training, emergency command centers, administration and State Incident Command Teams. As the unit chief headquartered in Felton, Armstrong will oversee more than 280 permanent and seasonal staff in 16 fire stations, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s Ben Lomond Conservation Camp and the Soquel State Demonstration Forest, plus another 110 volunteers across eight more fire stations serving San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties.

Through cooperative agreements, Armstrong also will serve as fire chief for Santa Cruz County Fire Department, the Pajaro Valley Fire Protection District, San Mateo County Fire Department and the Coastside Fire Protection District.

A video posted Oct. 28 to the Cal Fire CZU Facebook page described Larkin, a Watsonville native, as having a 33-year fire service career that began as a volunteer firefighting career. Overseeing the August 2020 CZU Lighting Complex fire operations was a “once-in-a-career” event in Larkin’s career, according to the video. Larkin’s parting message was one urging leaders to work together to reduce flammable vegetative fuels in both Santa Cruz and San Mateo counties to avoid future similar catastrophic events.

“When you do something this long and take as much pride in it as I do, it’s with mixed emotions, but I’m excited to start the next chapter in my life,” Larkin said of his retirement.

Nate Armstrong previously served as Cal Fire CZU’s deputy chief of operations; he will now oversee the Santa Cruz County Fire Department and several other agencies in the region.