By Karen PearlmanApril 15, 2026 (Boulevard) — Mark Ostrander, a dedicated public servant, retired Cal Fire Battalion Chief and cornerstone of the San Diego backcountry, passed away after having a heart attack on Feb. 1, 2026. He was 69.
A man defined by what friends describe as a “servant’s heart,” Ostrander left a deep mark in the region and the people he spent his life protecting.
Born on Jan. 17, 1957, in Perris, California, Ostrander was the eldest of 14 children, a role that continued along his life path as a caretaker and leader.
Ostrander studied fire science in Northern California but two credits shy of a degree, at 18, he answered a calling to the fire service, a commitment that would span 37 years.
In 1979, when he was training with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Service, he was also moonlighting as a bartender as well as doing work in a lumber mill.
It was at that time when he met waitress Lorrie Ellis in a Pescadero bar called Duarte’s Tavern. Four months after they met, they were married in Pescadero in January 1980, and they moved to San Diego County five years later.
“Mark was a very personal individual,” Lorrie Ostrander recalled. “We made a pact the night we met about the importance of promises. If you can’t fulfill a promise, don’t promise at all. Be silent. And just do your best.”
His career in fire fighting began as a mechanic dozer operator in Rancho San Diego, and took him away from his home in Bankhead Springs — from major forest fire assignments in Montana to various regions across California. He was known for his steady leadership and deep care for the communities under his watch. In 2010, Ostrander retired as the Battalion Chief for eastern San Diego County.
A new chapter
But his retirement from fire fighting only signaled the start of a new chapter of service.
Ostrander’s spiritual life was a mix of heritage and humanitarianism. He deeply embraced his Native American roots, participating in traditional dance with the Kumeyaay Band of Mission Indians and building a sacred smoke lodge on his property west of Jacumba that became a place of prayer and healing for many.
In later years, alongside Lorrie, Ostrander became a pillar of the Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation, one of the world’s largest humanitarian organizations. Founded in Taiwan in 1966, its name, Tzu Chi, translates to “Compassionate Relief.”
His commitment to compassion led him to become a vegetarian in 2012, a choice sparked by his desire to protect all living beings.
“There was a time when Mark was a mehcanical dozer operator,” said Lorrie Ostrander (shown with Mark Ostrander, in the photo below, right). “Animals meant a lot to both of us, and one time while he was working as a dozer operator in a fire, he saw kangaroo mouse. He picked it up and stuck it in his pocket to save his life. Another time, in Montana while he was fighting a fire, he was in the water for safety reasons, and a deer came right up to him for shelter. Animals have always come to our house, even when other homes have water and food for them. One time we even raised a timberwolf.”
Ostrander’s professional expertise in the California Environmental Quality Act allowed him to provide expert testimony and advice to protect local groundwater and scenic vistas from industrial blight.
His legacy is physically etched into the community of Boulevard.
Alongside his wife, Ken and Tammy Daubach and Howard Cook and his family, Ostrander helped establish the first Fire Safe Council in the region and formed the nonprofit Jacumba-Boulevard Revitalization Alliance which started in the living room of the Cooks’ house, Lorrie Ostrander said.
Together, they saved the old Boulevard fire station, transforming it into the Boulevard Backcountry Resource Center.
Friends remember Ostrander
Dennis Berglund, a ranch owner and president of the Priax Corportion in Pine Valley, knew Ostrander for about eight years and said that Ostrander could always be called upon to help work “on projects and odd jobs” in the region.
For the Boulevard Backcountry Resource Center, “he put the lion’s share of the work in there.”
“Mark replaced the fire doors, put in the air conditioning, got cameras put in, worked with SDG&E on putting solar on the roof, and probably spent 40 hours a month or more on that place.”
When Ostrander was president of the Jacumba Boulevard Revitalization Alliance, Earl Goodnight, worked as vice president. Goodnight, now the group’s leader, said the two were close friends and that he will remember Ostrander as “jack of all trades.”
“I don’t know anything he couldn’t fix or didn’t have the equipment to fix something,” said Goodnight, who is the current chair of the Boulevard Community Planning Group. “I remember one time we had a conversation about something that needed to be done and I asked him if we needed to rent the tool to do the work. He said, ‘Rent? I have that tool!’
“Mark would volunteer and help anybody, and wouldn’t let them pay for anything. He lived in Jacumba but was always there for people in all communities, and whatever he did, it was pro bono. He was very knowledgeable about a lot of things but was easy to talk to.”
To his neighbors, he was also the man who simply showed up — whether fixing an HVAC system for a senior or launching the “Mountain News and Views” page on Facebook to keep the community connected.
Donna Tisdale, a longtime advocate and close friend, remembers Ostrander as an irreplaceable ally:
“Mark was a very accomplished yet humble man,” Tisdale said. “He was more comfortable giving than receiving. For almost two decades, Mark provided expert fire testimony and advice as we challenged projects that threatened our resources. Whether he was helping us on our ranch or defending our community, Mark was one of a kind. He will be deeply missed by all who appreciated his humble yet meaningful presence.”
Tisdale remarked that “Mark could do almost anything,” and recalled him working with her husband, Ed, on projects at the couple’s Morning Star Ranch, before they moved in 2023 to Olahoma.
Ostrander is survived by his wife, Lorrie, whose shared vision fueled much of his community work. They celebrated 46 years together as a married couple in January of this year. He was a guardian to Lorrie Ostrander’s three children from a previous marriage.
In keeping with Ostrander’s spirit, the family suggests that the best way to honor his memory is to volunteer or participate at the Boulevard Backcountry Resource Center. As a nonprofit owned by the community, its future relies on the same neighborly dedication Mark Ostrander showed every day.
“Mark was a very personal individual,” Lorrie Ostrander recalled. “We made a pact the night we met about the importance of promises. If you can’t fulfill a promise, don’t promise at all. Be silent. And just do your best.”