Whale Gulch
Volunteer Fire Company
The Whale Gulch Volunteer Fire Company (WGVFC) is a small fire protection and emergency medical organization with 15-20 all volunteer firefighters, first responders and 1 EMT, founded by the Whale Gulch Community in 1973 in response to the Finley Creek wildland fire.
WGVFC’s response area is 25 square miles in the extremely isolated, steep and heavily forested “Lost Coast” section of North Western Mendocino County (70%) and South Western Humboldt County (30%).
WGVFC’s service covers 95 residences, 77 within the community of Whale Gulch along with the two acre K-12 Whale Gulch School Campus and their Firehouse across the road. There are also 10 residences east of the Gulch along the Briceland-Thorn Road (one of which is the well visited Redwoods Monastery) to the county line and an additional 8 residences on the northern end of the community in Humboldt County on Chemise Mountain road.
WGVFC’s wildland area of response also extends into the popular tourist destinations of the Sinkyone Wilderness State Park to the south and the Chemise Mountain Wilderness Area to the north.
WGVFC has mutual aid agreements with their two closest Fire Agencies, Whitethorn Volunteer Fire to the east and Shelter Cove Fire to the north, both of which are located in Humboldt County.
Community Projects
On 2/21/23 a severe snowstorm hit this coastal area where even a few inches of snow is unusual. Over three days 2-6 feet of snow fell causing the breakage and falling of thousands of trees, devastating the Whale Gulch Community, blocking all public and private roadways as well as routes to residents water sources, storage tanks and systems.
Information about this project should go here.
