The Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) is preparing to enhance its search and rescue capabilities by accepting over $1.8 million in federal funding. This money, from the Department of Homeland Security and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), is earmarked for a specialized task force ahead of anticipated impacts from a strengthening El Niño. The OCFA Board of Directors is expected to formally accept these funds at its Thursday board meeting.
This move comes as Governor Gavin Newsom declared a statewide emergency earlier this week, prompted by what experts describe as a “Super El Niño” — potentially the strongest El Niño season recorded. Heavy rains and high surf are expected to affect the region starting next month. Coastal cities, including San Clemente, Laguna Beach, and Dana Point, have already experienced damage from high tides and surf, with Seal Beach officials preparing a 14-foot sand berm and coordinating with emergency response crews.
The federal grant will support California Task Force 5 (CA-TF5), a FEMA urban search and rescue task force sponsored by OCFA and based in Orange County. This 70-person team draws firefighters from OCFA, Anaheim, and Orange Fire Departments. According to FEMA, the task force is trained to rescue individuals from collapsed structures, floods, and other disasters. It is one of 28 such urban search and rescue task forces across the United States, and one of eight located in California.
The $1.8 million is part of a larger $56 million federal grant divided among all 28 task forces. OCFA officials stated that this represents fixed funding the task forces have received since the 1990s, trickling down from DHS to FEMA and then distributed evenly. Mike Yeun, California Task Force 5 Program Manager, noted that this predictable funding simplifies budgeting for the task force. The grant funds are critical for task force operations, covering administration, training, equipment, and storage and maintenance. CA-TF5 has utilized past Cooperative Agreement funds for various missions, including responding to natural disasters.
CA-TF5 regularly deploys across the country to assist in search and rescue operations during natural disasters. In 2024, for example, the task force aided in Hurricane Helene relief efforts, a Category Four hurricane that impacted several states and resulted in over 250 deaths. Currently, the task force is pre-positioned in Hawaii, where residents have recently faced severe storms and flooding.
However, if El Niño severely impacts the Orange County region, California Task Force 5 would not be able to respond as an external aid unit. Its members would already be deployed within their respective departments to assist local communities. Mike Yeun explained that jurisdictions facing a crisis typically lack the resources to organize a task force for their own needs. Therefore, outside task forces from unaffected areas usually step in.
Officials clarified that a federal state of emergency would need to be declared for any external task force to be pre-positioned in Southern California to aid with El Niño impacts. If such a declaration were made, task forces from Northern California and Nevada would likely be deployed to provide support for search and rescue operations.
In the meantime, OCFA is conducting regular rainy season training for its firefighters, including water rescues, preparing them for potential storms. Yeun stated that the department is ready to provide mutual aid to cities across Orange County, dispatching fire engines, rescue personnel, or helicopters as needed. This includes direct support to Dana Point and San Clemente, which fall under OCFA’s jurisdiction. Yeun remarked, “We’re just getting ready mentally and seeing what happens.”
