Michael Castellanos was born and raised in Cambria and graduated from Coast Union High School. He started his fire career in Siskiyou County as a Firefighter with the Lake Shastina Fire Department. He has worked for the Cambria Fire Department since 2012 as a Firefighter, was promoted to Fire Engineer in December 2016, and was promoted to Fire Captain EMT in January 2023. He has also worked for Cambria Ambulance and CAL FIRE.