30 December 2025
Dear Fallen Leaf Lake Community,
I AM SO EXCITED!!! I am also humbled and honored to return to the best job I have ever had, now with 17 years of CAL FIRE experience. I am confident this Community and Fire Department will thrive as we navigate the changing face of fire protection here at Fallen Leaf Lake.
My history with Fallen Leaf goes back to 1988 when I fell in love with the place as I first arrived as a summer staffer at SSC. As soon as I graduated from Stanford in 1990, I moved up here full time and I started as a volunteer at FLLVFD. I became your Fire Chief for the first time in 1994. We had two old Dodge USFS pickups that we parked outside (we were just working on a new fire station location and design) and a pontoon fireboat that John Rich, Bill Craven and I literally bolted back together. In those seven years, we retired the 1948 open cab Mack fire engine and upgraded to a 1968 Ford Van Pelt (which is still in service at Stanford Camp). I completed my AS degree in Fire Science as well as my Officer and Chief Officer certifications with the State of California and became a Deputy State Fire Marshal. I also volunteered as a full time Reserve with South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue and led the Nordic Search Team for El Dorado County SAR.
In the winter of 1998, I started working for Doctors Without Borders as an HR, Logistics and Field Coordinator in many different African countries. I was the direct manager for hundreds of local and expat workers at multiple health centers, feeding centers and refugee camps in Kenya, Uganda, Liberia, South Sudan and Darfur Sudan. I also worked full time for two years as the Vice President of Facilities for Safe Horizon, a non-profit organization in New York City providing assistance to thousands of victims of crime and abuse. I supervised a team of 25 personnel as we made sure our 150 office and shelter locations around the city were bid, built and outfitted properly. Right after the 9/11 attack, I was part of the executive team at Safe Horizon who supervised the staff supporting the families of the victims through counseling, housing, legal assistance and direct payments to cover lost salary and funeral costs.
The CSD Board (different dedicated community members) chose me to be your Fire Chief for a second term from 2002 through 2009 and I worked tirelessly to improve our response capability (through grants and other means) for upgraded vehicles, equipment and infrastructure. I recruited, trained and managed a very active group of 30 Volunteer Firefighters and seasonal paid Captains and Firefighter EMTs. We were able to improve District response capability to the point of reducing our Insurance Services Office (ISO) rating from a 10 to a 4 (Chief Gerren has since reduced our district rating to a 2!). In 2007, your Fire Department distinguished itself during our response to the Angora Fire by defending numerous homes in South Lake Tahoe and keeping the fire’s direct impact to Fallen Leaf at less than 10 acres. Under my direction, we started sending our fire engines and personnel to multiple strike team assignments in California and Nevada for the first time.
In 2009, I left FLL wanting more experience fighting large wildland fires and to work for the greatest firefighting agency on the planet. I have done that as a Fire Captain with CAL FIRE for the last 17 years and have been on the front lines defending Communities from some of the most devastating fires in California’s history; Butte, Valley, Sobranes, Tubbs, Thomas, Carr, Camp, 2020 Lightning Complexes, Mosquito, Dixie, Caldor, and just this year, the Eaton and Palisades in LA. These, in addition to the hundreds of Initial Attack fires I have responded to and managed as an Engine Captain, Crew Captain, Strike Team Leader, Division Supervisor and Incident Commander have well prepared me to lead our emergency response team here at Fallen Leaf Lake.
For the last 10 years I have been a primary instructor for CAL FIRE’s Crew Captain Academy; training more than 800 new Crew Captains how to be effective leaders of their 18 person hand crews. In addition, as Training Captain for CAL FIRE’s Handcrew Program, Pine Grove, Washington Ridge and Tahoe Meyers Fire Centers, I have trained thousands of National Guard Service Members, California Conservation Corps Members, and California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Incarcerated Persons how to be safe and productive firefighters and chainsaw operators. I am passionate about making sure all our fire personnel are trained to the highest level possible.
As the Administration Captain for both Washington Ridge and Tahoe Meyers Fire Centers, I was primarily responsible for creating and updating our camp safety, inspection and maintenance programs, managing the schedules of 10 CAL FIRE Crew Captains, coordinating with our project partners to schedule and bill work done by 5 handcrews daily and ordering and paying for all equipment necessary for 120 firefighters. The complexity of camp administration and management has since been acknowledged by CAL FIRE, and each fire center now has at least 1 Battalion Chief position to do the work I did alone.
Some folks have wondered why I never became a Chief Officer with CAL FIRE. The main reason is because I wanted to keep fighting fire in the trenches as long as I could. I have been on the Battalion Chief’s list for over 10 years (interview panels required every other year to stay on the list) and have turned down Chief appointments so I could keep working in the field. I bring that hands-on, front line experience to Fallen Leaf to prepare our community to effectively respond to the wildland fire threat. As your Fire Chief, I want to do everything I can to ensure the devastation I have fought against in so many communities across California never ravages Fallen Leaf.
I am committed to supporting our Firefighting Personnel so they can do their jobs as safely, effectively and efficiently as possible. Our Paramedic program is a key component of our Department’s improved response plan. I will ensure that as an ALL RISK department we continue to be ready to respond to any emergency including: wildland fires, structure fires, vehicle accidents, hazmats, water rescues, etc. We will also continue to support the State Mutual Aid System by participating in Strike Team assignments whenever possible. These Out of County missions provide valuable experience for our Firefighters and are an important source of revenue.
I will be working with the CSD Board, our Firefighters and our support staff to create a sustainable budget as well as a long term mission, vision and strategic plan for the FLFD. Part of this will be planning our community response to extremes of weather, possible mudslides and/or flooding, invasive species exclusion and eradication, wildfire prevention, defensible space and fuel reduction. We will also be planning for continuing maintenance and improvement of the CSD’s assets, the community area, community building, dock infrastructure and fire station.
Community outreach and education are critical to public safety, and training has been a focus and a joy for me my entire career. I look forward to creating many different opportunities to spend one on one time with community members at all the geographic enclaves around the lake.
The main reason to have a Fire Department at Fallen Leaf is speed of response. The City of SLT, Lake Valley FD and CAL FIRE resources can arrive in Fallen Leaf somewhere between 30 and 60 minutes. Fallen Leaf FD resources typically arrive in less than 8 minutes. This difference is critical for keeping fires small and providing emergency medical intervention as quickly as possible. It is and always has been the reason the department exists.
The California Fire Service has changed in the 35 years since I was first a Volunteer here. And the Fallen Leaf Lake Community Services District Fire Department has changed from what it was when I first became your Fire Chief in 1994. But the mission is still the same; to provide the fastest and most effective emergency services to the Fallen Leaf Community. I am thrilled to return with a career full of knowledge and experience and excited to build upon the advancements Chief Gerren and his team have made during his tenure.
I have missed being at Fallen Leaf Lake and WE (my wife Bonnie and our two dogs Gus and Tuffy) are very, very happy to be back.
Yours In Service,
Christopher Sauer