Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station Capt. Brandon Barclay said Tuesday he’s hopeful a new mobile command unit for the area can now be acquired, thanks to a $1 million federal budget allocation with help from Rep. George Whitesides, D-Agua Dulce.
At the SCV Sheriff’s Station on Tuesday, Whitesides recalled talks he had last year with some of the community’s emergency response leaders, including Barclay, as wildfires burned throughout L.A. County in January 2025.
“It was part of the conversations that we were having with the Sheriff’s Department and L.A. County Fire, during the fires last year, and we saw the utility of those kinds of stations,” Whitesides said. “I said if there’s anything I can do to help get them what they need, to do it. So, we put it at the top of our list for our requests, and I was very happy to see that money come through.”
Barclay talked about witnessing the devastation firsthand from last year’s fire in talking about the need for a new command center. The city unveiled its own recently purchased $1.5 million mobile incident command center at last year’s State of the City luncheon, which was purchased with a budget allocation secured by Assemblywoman Pilar Schiavo, D-Chatsworth.
Barclay said he was working with other law enforcement agencies on specs for the new command unit, which he was hopeful he’d be able to purchase “on time and under budget” with the $1 million check he received at the station Tuesday.
Barclay and L.A. County Fire Assistant Chief Pat Sprengel recalled the devastation of the Canyon and Hughes fires “firsthand,” and said a unit like the one the station is purchasing would help bridge any technology gaps.
“The ability to maintain a centralized, technologically advanced hub for field operations is not merely a convenience, but a tactical necessity,” Barclay said. “This initiative, spearheaded by Congressman George Whitesides, addresses a critical gap in current infrastructure, replacing the antiquated unit that lacked the robust communication arrays required for contemporary incident command.”
The station’s current mobile command center was announced in May 2015, at a cost of approximately $320,000.
“Deputies will do a great job with what they have, and we’ll always get the job done,” Barclay said, referring to the old unit, then adding, “it’s just nice to have enhanced technology, which is truly one of the pillars of 21st-century policing.”
There was no timeline immediately available for when the new mobile command unit would be ready once ordered.
