The Fallen Leaf Lake Community Services District has issued a formal proclamation honoring David Paul Bunnett for an extraordinary 40 years of volunteer firefighter service. Since joining FLLCSDFD in the spring of 1986, Bunnett has risen from Volunteer Firefighter to Engineer to Volunteer Fire Captain, responding to nearly every kind of emergency the Fallen Leaf Lake community has faced — from structure fires and avalanches to the 2007 Angora Fire and 2021 Caldor Fire evacuations, both of which he led in under 30 minutes. Over four decades he’s logged more than 80,000 volunteer hours, all while serving as Director of Stanford Sierra Camp and quietly inspiring a new generation of volunteer firefighters along the way. Read the full proclamation, presented September 5, 2026, below.
PROCLAMATION OF THE FALLEN LEAF LAKE COMMUNITY SERVICES DISTRICT
HONORING
David Paul Bunnett
40 Years of Volunteer Firefighter Service
WHEREAS, The Fallen Leaf Lake Community Services District Fire Department was established in 1982 to provide Fire and Life Safety protection for the Fallen Leaf Lake Community; and
WHEREAS, David Paul Bunnett first became a Volunteer Firefighter for the FLLCSDFD in the spring of 1986, and has progressed through the ranks as Volunteer Firefighter, Engineer and now Volunteer Fire Captain, from 1986 through the present day—always listening to the radio, always available day and night, during all seasons and all weather; and
WHEREAS, Dave Bunnett has responded without hesitation or compensation to every kind of emergency the Fallen Leaf Lake Community has experienced, including Structure Fire, Water Rescue, Search and Rescue, Medical Aid, Wildland Fire, Flood, Pestilence, Noro Virus, Drought, Avalanche. He helped save the Stanford Sierra Camp Main Lodge during the SSC Kitchen structure fire and has endured hardship, sleepless nights, endless days, hypothermia, hyperthermia, hunger, thirst, Bubonic Plague, and even being bitten to the bone by a patient who was out of her wits and yelling for help at Lily Lake; and
WHEREAS, Dave Bunnett twice commanded the successful evacuation of Fallen Leaf Lake residents, taking less than 30 minutes to do so during the Angora Fire of 2007 and again during the Caldor Fire in 2021. He ensured that residents were safely out of harm’s way and then remained at the Lake to protect it. He single-handedly extinguished two spot fires on the very steep west-facing slope of Angora Ridge, which would have ignited the entire Fallen Leaf side of the moraine; and
WHEREAS, Dave has helped manage and guide the Fallen Leaf Lake CSD Fire Department through eight different Fire Chiefs and multiple changes in operations and crisis; and
WHEREAS, Dave Bunnett has supported the Fire Department and the Community at large with his own personal time and resources. As Director of the Stanford Sierra Camp, he has also provided support through donations, approval to use SSC Beach and building space, equipment, snow plows, pumps, use of the Camp Boat as a backup Fire Boat, and use of parking for the FLLCSDFD Fire Boat every winter and spring; and
WHEREAS, His example has inspired numerous other staff from Stanford Sierra Camp to donate their time and energy to become Volunteer Firefighters as well over the years; and
WHEREAS, Dave embodies the qualities of a leader detailed in the National Wildfire Coordinating Group’s Incident Response Pocket Guide: He is competent, confident, provides purpose, direction and motivation with a “can do safely” attitude, taking charge of assigned resources; assessing the situation; demonstrating initiative; communicating clearly; and supervising at the scene of action. He demonstrates duty, respect, and integrity by maintaining professional standards, making sound and timely decisions, looking after the wellbeing of others, building the team, accepting responsibility, sharing hazards and hardships, and choosing the difficult right over the easy wrong; and
WHEREAS, Over the course of his 40 YEARS as a VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTER and VOLUNTEER FIRE CAPTAIN, he has committed over 80,000 hours to the Fallen Leaf Lake Community; and
WHEREAS, Dave Bunnett has the most positive ATTITUDE of any person on the planet; and
WHEREAS, Whenever Dave is present in the District, we all feel a little safer and more comfortable.
THEREFORE, the Fallen Leaf Lake Community Services District extends its deepest gratitude to David Paul Bunnett for his 40 YEARS OF SERVICE to the Fallen Leaf Lake Community.
WITH OUR DEEPEST GRATITUDE
Karen Sipprell — President Katie Gray — Vice-President Alison Kerr — Director Daniel Kramer — Director Woodson Martin — Director Chris Sauer — Fire Chief Don Ashton — General Manager
Dated September 5, 2026