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Shaver Lake in Fresno County, high in California's Central Sierra

Still here. Still volunteer.

A mountain-lake community in the Sierra National Forest, protected for six decades by an all-volunteer crew. We came through the Creek Fire, and we are still answering the call.

How you can help Our Creek Fire story
6 decades
Serving the mountain community
200 to 220
Calls answered in a typical year
All volunteer
Neighbors on call, day and night
1 station
On Tollhouse Road, at 5,000 feet

The place we protect

A lake town at the edge of the wilderness.

Shaver Lake sits along State Route 168 in the Central Sierra, ringed by pine, granite, and the Sierra National Forest. It is beautiful, remote, and, like every mountain community, it lives with real wildfire exposure.

When a call comes in up here, help is not a few minutes down a city block. It is neighbors, trained and equipped, driving out from one station on Tollhouse Road. That has been the quiet arrangement for about six decades: the people who love this place are the same people who protect it.

Roughly 200 to 220 times a year, the pagers go off. Structure fires, wildland starts, medical calls, crashes on the mountain highway, and lake-season emergencies. The crew shows up for all of it, on their own time.

Resilience

The mountain came through it. So did the crew.

Six decades on the mountain. Roughly 200 to 220 calls a year. One all-volunteer department, still here after the largest fire this forest has seen.

  1. The setting
    Life at 5,000 feet
    A lake community inside the Sierra National Forest, where wildfire is a fact of life and the fire department is made of neighbors.
  2. 2020
    The Creek Fire
    One of California's largest wildfires tore through the region around Shaver Lake. The department was in the thick of it, protecting homes and its own community.
  3. After
    The long recovery
    The fire ended, the work did not. Through the aftermath and rebuilding, the volunteers kept answering roughly 200 to 220 calls a year.
  4. Next
    A new station
    The department has been seeking community support for a new fire station, so the next generation of volunteers is ready for whatever the mountain brings.

How you help

A volunteer department runs on its community.

Every tri-tip plate, every donation, and every hand at an event goes straight back into readiness: gear, training, and the push for a new station.

Signature event

The July 4th Tri-Tip Fundraiser

The department's best-known day of the year. A mountain Fourth of July, a tri-tip plate that draws the whole community to the lake, and the single biggest boost to the volunteers' budget. It is a celebration and a fundraiser in one.

Every Independence Day in Shaver Lake

Creek Fire 5-Year Commemoration

A community gathering marking five years since the 2020 Creek Fire. Remembrance, recovery, and support for the crew that stood in front of it.

Back the new-station effort

The department has been building community support for a new fire station. Ask the chief how contributions and volunteer hours move that effort forward.

Volunteer or lend a hand

Crews are always looking for new volunteers and event help. Reach out to learn what training and time commitment look like on the mountain.

Reach the department

Talk to the crew.

The department's real contact channels are below. This concept page does not collect or send anything.

In an emergency, always dial 911. The channels above are for non-urgent questions, support, and volunteering.

Concept contact form

This form is part of a design concept. It is turned off and sends nothing. Please use the email or phone shown to the left.