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