Trouble ahead: Worst fire conditions in 100 years

Friday, May 4, 2007

Trouble ahead: Worst fire conditions in 100 years

SignOnSanDiego.com > News > Metro -- Trouble ahead: Worst fire conditions in 100 years:

By Karen Kucher and Debbi Farr Baker

9:53 a.m. May 3, 2007

SAN DIEGO – California is facing the worst fire conditions in almost a century, and worried fire officials are sounding the alarm.

Lack of rain and dry fuel conditions prompted state fire authorities to declare the start of fire season earlier than normal in three Southern California counties, including San Diego.

Several indicators, especially fuel moisture levels, add up to tremendous fire potential, said San Diego fire Deputy Chief of Operations Jeff Carle.

“The things we look at are telling us we are in trouble,” Carle said.

The state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection has hired its seasonal firefighters and says facilities will be staffed on a 24-hour basis because of fire danger.

Historically, the state has declared fire season between May and June. The start dates vary according to jurisdiction's individual weather conditions. CDF declared fire season started Monday in San Bernardino, Riverside and San Diego counties.

“We are prepared and ready for the upcoming wildfire season,” Cal Fire Director Ruben Grijalva said in a prepared statement. “The lack of precipitation with the increase in temperatures has dried out Southern California significantly. . . . We will take the battle to California's wildfires.”

So far this year, San Diego's Lindbergh Field, the region's main measuring spot, has received about one-third the normal rainfall it receives for the season. As of July 1, the season total at the airport was 3.85 inches of rain. Normal annual rainfall is 10.77 inches.

March 2007 was San Diego's 12th-driest March since record keeping began in 1850. And rainfall in May and June tends to be minuscule.

If Lindbergh Field receives normal rainfall from now until the season ends on June 30, the city would finish the year with 4.19 inches, which would make the year the sixth driest in history. State fire officials are reminding residents to protect their homes by clearing brush and creating defensible spaces around their homes, particularly near wild-land areas.

Dead vegetation should be cleared about 100 feet from homes and branches should be trimmed 10 feet from the ground. To lessen the risk of sparking fires with equipment, the state suggests all yard work be done during morning hours.

Trying to get the word out about the heightened fire danger, San Diego firefighters on Thursday warned of dangerous fire conditions within city limits.

Fire Chief Tracy Jarman is planning to hold a news conference at Marian Bear Memorial Park Thursday to discuss the fire conditions, warning that this is the driest year in San Diego in 90 years.

Fire officials say a cold winter lowered the moisture in local vegetation, drying it out even more than normal and making it more combustible.

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How fires get their names

Every year in California thousands of wildfires start throughout the state. In most cases, the dispatch center sending the initial resources to a wildland fire will designate a name for the fire, but the first on scene engine or fire official can also name the incident. Fires are usually named for the area in which they start – a geographical location, local landmark, street, lake, mountain, peak, etc. Quickly naming the fire provides responding fire resources with an additional locater, and allows fire officials to track and prioritize incidents by name. For example during the Southern California Fire Siege of 2003, the largest wildland fire in California history, the Cedar Fire in San Diego County, was named after the Cedar Creek Falls area where it started. The destructive Old Fire, which burned during the same time period in San Bernardino County, was named after the road along which it started - Old Waterman Canyon Road.

CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States. CDF - CAL FIRE Firefighters answer the call more than 300,000 times a year. CAL FIRE Firefighters make up the fire department for 30 of our 58 counties in California and more than 100 local communities. We serve as the incident command during many of California’s most serious disasters. CAL FIRE Firefighters respond to many various types and forms of calls ranging from structural fires, to auto accidents, to earthquakes, to floods, to the spilling of hazardous materials, to every conceivable disaster; CAL FIRE answer's the calls. CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States . CAL FIRE firefighters protect 33 million acres of State Responsibility Area (SRA). We have over 4,000 members within CAL FIRE and CAL FIRE is associated with the California Professional Firefighters (CPF) and the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF).

CFN - CALIFORNIA FIRE NEWS - CAL FIRE NEWS

Friday, May 4, 2007