Preparing for California's Fire Season When 'We're Already There'

MONROVIA, CA — Who would have thought that more rainfall would equate to more fires? After an unusually wet and “dramatic winter,” grass crops in the valleys and foothills grew rapidly, Cal Fire Chief of Public Information Daniel Berlant said. However, after a few weeks of triple digit heat and 20 to 25 mph winds the crops have dried out, turning the grass into “fast burning fuel."

“Now we’re coming off a wet year, where the grass grew and now we have a lot of grass that’s going to be dead here,” Cal Fire Riverside Division Chief Silvio Lanzas explained to Patch during a recent wildland preparedness training exercise in Riverside County. “That’s just more fuel, and more ability for a spark to start a fire.”

Living in California’s dry climate, there is always a potential for fires to start. “Above Normal” fire potential is expected across the middle elevations in California in July and August after the abundant grass crop cures, according to an executive summary from the National Interagency Fire Center.

The increase in fires has been pretty drastic: last year there were 1,750 fires and 18,354 acres burned, but just halfway through 2017, there have already been 2,135 fires and 20,248 acres burned, Berlant said.

“California has year round fires, so we don’t really have a 'fire season' like other places might,” he said.

This year, fires have shut down freeways in Sonoma County multiple times. Recently in Benicia, a fire shut down the I-80, engulfed more than 20 acres, and damaged four homes. A fire near Cloverdale forced the southbound lane of the 101 to close, while 81 firefighters, ten engine companies, two air tankers, and a helicopter responded to the scene to contain the blaze.

There was also the Refuge Fire north of Lake Berryessa in Napa County, which burned 22-acres but was eventually contained. In Santa Clara, a fire started at a Santa Clara County park and burned 54-acres of shrubs, weeds, and grass.

Fires have burned in Central California as well, even burning down a home belonging to ‘Big Bang Theory’ star Johnny Galecki.

Within the last week alone Southern California has had multiple fires, including a brush fire south of Beaumont, dubbed the Manzanita incident, where over 6,300 acres burned, and two brush fires in the Malibu and Calabasas areas.

Cal Fire has resources available in order to prepare for a fire season, according to Berlant, including the Ready for Wildfire phone application and Ready, Set, Go! program:

• Ready: “Be prepared in relation to your defensible space around your home, and do what needs to be done,” Berlant said. “Grass shouldn’t be more than four inches tall.”
• Set: “Have important items packed and ready to go in case of an emergency. You should have something you can grab and put in your car quickly to get out,” he said, “including laptops, prescriptions, sets of clothes, three days worth of food, and important documents.”
• Go!: “When there is an evacuation warning given, leave because it’s for your safety,” he said.

Renee Schiavone contributed to this story / Patch file photo by Renee Schiavone