The Kern County Board of Supervisors voted to eliminate funding for the only county-funded "hotshot" rapid-response firefighting crew in the Kern River Valley.

Kern County fire officials responding on social media saying "in January of this year the decision to not staff Rio Bravo Crew 7 for 2020 was made by Fire Chief David Witt."

The post went on to say "This difficult decision was made after careful consideration of existing available resources within our department and partner agencies. We look forward with confidence in our efforts to reduce our structural budget deficit and staffing Rio Bravo Crew 7 in the future."