CAL FIRE NEWS: CAL FIRE Suspends Burn Permits in 14 Bay Area Counties

Thursday, June 23, 2016

CAL FIRE NEWS: CAL FIRE Suspends Burn Permits in 14 Bay Area Counties

CAL FIRE Suspends Burn Permits in 14 Bay Area Counties

While recent rains this winter and spring have been a welcome sight in California, drought conditions continue to increase fire danger in the region prompting CAL FIRE to suspend all burn permits for outdoor burning within the State Responsibility Area of the following 14 counties:

Alameda
Colusa
Contra Costa
Lake Mendocino
Napa
San Mateo
San Clara
Santa Cruz
Solano
Sonoma
Yolo
Areas west of Interstate 5 in Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties

This suspension takes effect Monday, June 27, 2016 at 12:01 a.m. and bans all outdoor burning except for campfires within organized campgrounds or on private property with landowner permission.

Campfires may be permitted if the campfire is maintained in such a manner as to prevent its spread to the wildland.

A campfire permit can be obtained at local CAL FIRE fire stations and online at PreventWildfireCA.org.

Sacramento – Since January 1, 2016 CAL FIRE and firefighters across the state have already responded to approximately 2,100 wildfires that have burned over 32,000 acres.

While outdoor burning is no longer allowed, CAL FIRE is asking residents to ensure that they are prepared for wildfires by maintaining a minimum of 100 feet of Defensible Space around every home.

“As conditions across California are drying out further we must take every step to prevent new wildfires from sparking,” said Chief Ken Pimlott, CAL FIRE director. “Residents must ensure they have Defensible Space by removing dead trees and overgrown vegetation from around their homes, but do so safely.”

Here are some tips to help prepare homes and property:

Clear all dead and or dying vegetation 100 feet from around all structures
Landscape with fire resistant/drought tolerant plants
Find an alternative way to dispose of debris such as chipping.

For residents in Santa Cruz County, you may contact the Resource Conservation District of Santa Cruz County to participate in the Chipper Program (831) 4642950.

For additional information on how to create Defensible Space, as well as tips to prevent wildfires, visit www.ReadyForWildfire.org. The department may issue restricted temporary burning permits if there is an essential reason due to public health and safety. Agriculture, land management, fire training, and other industrialtype burning may proceed if a CAL FIRE official inspects the burn site and issues a special permit.

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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

Thursday, June 23, 2016