Huang sees this year’s wildfires being extremely devastating and dangerous

Photo by Marty Cheek
New Fire Chief George Huang in front of the mural at the fire station.

By Marty Cheek

When George Huang stepped into the role of Morgan Hill’s new fire chief in mid-March, he found himself taking a big step in a career ladder that started at a community college in the heart of Silicon Valley.

“I saw firefighters training at Mission College,” he said. “I didn’t know too much initially about the fire-fighting program until I started taking classes and started going through the whole process of the fire-fighting degree, the AS degree, Fire Fighting 1 education training.”

It took Huang (pronounced “Wong”) about five years because he had to support himself in order to graduate from the program.

He worked as a Fire Fighter 1 for Cal Fire for six months through the year, and then went to school the second half. He holds an A.S. degree in fire science and an A.A. degree in general studies from Mission College in Santa Clara.

Cal Fire announced the appointment of Chief George Huang to Unit Chief of the Santa Clara Unit, effective March 15. Under the city of Morgan Hill’s partnership with the fire-fighting agency, the 42-year-old will also serve as the Fire Chief for Morgan Hill Fire. He replaces Jake Hess who served as the Morgan Hill Fire Chief for the past 3.5 years. Hess was promoted to the position of two-star chief of Northern California and is now overseeing several units in 22 counties and Cal Fire Northern Region Administration in Santa Rosa.

“We are excited to have Chief Huang join our Morgan Hill leadership team and look forward to the continued excellent fire service under his leadership,” Morgan Hill’s City Manager Christina Turner said in a press release. “While we are sad to see Chief Hess go, we are grateful that he continues to serve Morgan Hill and much of California in his new role.”

Huang’s family immigrated from Vietnam to California during the mid-1970s. His parents, three sisters and a brother fled the war-torn country on a small, wooden boat holding 40 people.

As the family traveled through the pirate-invested channels of Vietnam with hopes to reach Thailand, his mother was pregnant with him at the time but did not know it. Eventually, missionary patrol boats brought them to a refugee camp in Singapore.

The family was sponsored by an individual from Monterey and Huang was born in a Salinas hospital. After he graduated from Monterey High School, he moved to San Jose.

Huang’s 20-year career at Cal Fire has seen him move throughout the Golden State. He began his fire service career in 2002 as a type 1 firefighter in the San Luis Obispo Unit. In 2005, he transferred to the Santa Clara Unit where he was assigned to Alma Helitack Base.

In 2008, he accepted a fire apparatus engineer position in San Luis Obispo and was assigned to the Parkhill Station. In 2010, he was promoted to fire apparatus engineer and was assigned to Creston Station. In 2012, George was promoted to fire captain, assigned to Paso Robles Station. In 2013, he transferred to Cal Fire’s training bureau, where he was the coordinator for Allan Hancock Community College Firefighter I Academies, Firefighter I Rehire Academies, San Luis Obispo County Volunteer Firefighter Academies, and the Cal Fire Basic Firefighter Academy.

At that time, he married his girlfriend, Monica, a nurse living in Cupertino. They moved into a house they bought in San Luis Obispo.

In 2017, George was promoted to battalion chief and was assigned to the Training Bureau where he managed both state and county training requirements. In 2019, he transferred to the North Coast Battalion, where he supervised and managed five fire stations.

In 2020, Chief Huang was promoted to Assistant Chief of Administration in the Santa Clara Unit overseeing Alameda, Contra Costa, Santa Clara, Western San Joaquin, and Stanislaus counties.

He and Monica at that time moved to Morgan Hill. As they settled into the new home, they learned Monica was pregnant. Their daughter, Madelyn, is now going on 13 months.

“I wanted to live in Morgan Hill,” Huang said. “I went to Morgan Hill for the Mushroom Mardi Gras and so, I really liked the environment. I like this community. The people are friendly. It’s homey, it’s a great place to raise a family.”

The year 2020 was filled with devastating fires throughout the entire state, including several historically major wildfires and forest fires in the Bay Area.

“It was just non-stop back to back while my wife was pregnant and we were trying to find a house,” he said. “She’s very supportive and I would not be here without her support.”

What used to be the “fire season” in the past is now becoming a series of major fires throughout the year. Hotter weather produces tinder-dry grasslands and forests, increasingly resulting in more devastating and dangerous fires during Huang’s career.

“We live in fire country. We’re seeing mega-fires,” he said, noting the past three years have been especially brutal. “We used to have 10,000, 20,000, 50,000 acre fires. That was a major incident . . . We had 950,000 acres — that’s what the Dixie Fire was. That fire ran through five different counties, burned multiple communities. The trees that were growing out in Lassen County were so dry, it was almost as dry as the wood you buy at Home Depot.

“I’m not going to say this year is not going to be bad. Our fuels are right back where they were last year, and the fires could be worse this year.”

What was it about fighting fires that drew Huang into the job as his life career?

“The job is so diverse. The job is never static,” he said. “At one moment I’m helping somebody with medical aid. Another moment I’m fighting a house fire. Another moment I’m assisting a vehicle accident.”

Ultimately, the thing that draws him into the profession — “first and foremost” — is helping people.

“You’ve heard it so many times with different fire fighters,” he said. “Now as the unit chief who actually oversees the entire unit, my No. 1 priority is the public and families. We have to be there for the public.”

If someone dials 911, they’re asking for help. They’re in need of somebody. And the No. 1 thing that allows them to feel at ease is when they see the fire fighters arrive. The job is not just about the uniform but having the heart to help people, he said.

“You come to work and you never know what you’re going to face,” he said. “You never know what the calls are going to be.”