ESCONDIDO (KGTV) — Escondido has a new fire chief focused on pressing challenges: an approaching round of Santa Ana winds this weekend and a growing wildfire insurance crisis affecting thousands of city residents.
Tyler Batson has been with the Escondido Fire Department since 2003. He got into the fire service at 33 years old, following a career in the Navy.
"I've been here for 23 years. I got into the fire service at 33 years old. I didn't expect to. I didn't grow up knowing anybody in the fire service or expecting to be a firefighter. I was in the Navy, thought I was going to do 30 years in the Navy," Batson said.
A change in his personal life brought him to the department.
"Had a lifestyle change, was a single dad, and I needed something with a much more regular schedule. Uh, I had friends that had gotten out of the Navy and gotten into the fire service, and they got me interested in it. Uh, so I kind of went all in," Batson said.
With Santa Ana winds expected in Escondido this weekend, Batson emphasized the importance of regional coordination when large fire incidents occur.
"None of the agencies respond to any big incident by themselves. It all requires the help from all our neighbors, uh, and, and being able to not just work together but work well together and have a plan for when those big incidents come. And that's been a really good evolution over the last 20 years," Batson said.
Wildfire risk is also hitting North County residents in the wallet. Thousands are now paying more for home insurance — or struggling to find coverage at all.
The FAIR Plan is the state's insurer of last resort, providing coverage for homeowners who cannot get coverage in the private market. Batson said enrollment in Escondido has surged in recent years.
"A few years ago, We had 1,000 residents on the perimeter of our city that were on the state FAIR plan for insurance. Now we have 5,000 of our residents. And so trying to create a pathway where our residents are more aware of what they can do on their properties to not just be more resilient against wildfire but also get more affordable insurance back," Batson said.
Batson also outlined plans for the department, saying Escondido Fire needs more resources — and possibly a new fire station.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
