Below is an excerpt from an article at Capital Public Radio:
…CAL FIRE says the timing of this year’s rains and four years of drought will combine to make fire conditions in 2015 the worst on record.
“We measure the fuel moisture content of all of the vegetation -the brush and the trees and we track that over the course of time and compare it month to month each year,” says Ken Pimlott, Director of CAL FIRE. “And we put it through formulas and determine how much energy and how much heat it will put out when it’s burning. And we have seen -we saw it last year and we will see it again this year- we’ll be reaching records for potential heat output for times of the year that would normally not be burning in those conditions.
CAL FIRE Director Ken Pimlott urged homeowners to clear space and conserve water.
“We don’t have water to water lawns and unnecessary landscaping. So, what that means is, is you need to remove that vegetation as it dries. We don’t want your dry lawn and your dry brush to contribute to more of the fire hazard. So, stop watering your lawn and remove it.”
Thanks and a tip of the hat got out to Barbara.
Yep below the ten year average on both fires and acreage for the last several years coupled with 100 hour, 1000 hour, and erc currently wetter than last year and close to average in all but the coast according to the north gacc. This why I should rip out my lawn cut down my trees oh and pay the 150 dollar fee because he said so. I’ll manage to get by
In the past seven days Cal Fire has attacked and contained about 270 SRA fires.
Nothing like justifing you your existence or trying to get a little more money by telling people the sky is burning. Next we should clear cut the world to keep it from burning…….. unreal
Cody, we are in some of the worst drought conditions on record, and fuels are at record low levels. The facts speak for themselves.
Yes, the more that CA can move to fire-resistant and water-wise landscaping, and prudent defensible space, at both the homeowner and subdivision levels, the better. It’s possible to do this while keeping some of the beautiful defining plants like manzanita in the yard, in prudent ways.