Dry Year Puts Crews on Early Fire Alert

Lack of rain, unusually high winds and higher-than-normal temperatures since the first of the year have prompted state forestry officials to place 95 seasonal firefighters on alert across San Diego County starting Monday. Officials say it is one of the earliest declarations ever of the brush-fire season for the region’s forests and wild lands.

In a typical year, the California Department of Forestry puts seasonal firefighters on alert starting about mid-May. However, tests show that some of the grass, brush and trees in the county are as dry as they would normally be in July, said John Gray, the CDF chief in San Diego County.

“We have sustained a long period of drought, and the brush is drying out rapidly,” he said. “The brush under the 1,500-foot-level is especially dry, and that’s particularly dangerous because it’s where a lot of people live.”

The seasonal staff will be available on an on-call basis to assist the 93 permanent CDF firefighters in the county, according to Gray. The CDF also will open nine of its 18 stations in the county Monday.

On the Heels of Fire

The declaration comes on the heels of two brush fires near Lake Hodges this past week. About 100 acres were burned along the northern shoreline of the lake last Friday, while another 75-acre blaze flared up Tuesday in the same area. A brush fire also broke out at Camp Pendleton on Thursday afternoon.

San Diego is one of 10 California counties that will go on alert Monday. The others are Imperial, Orange, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside, Ventura, Santa Barbara, Mono and Inyo.

Local brush tested over the past week showed an 80% moisture level, Gray said, adding that prime burning range occurs under 80% moisture, with anything below 50% considered “critical.”

“We usually don’t see 80% until about July or so, so we’ve really gotten a jump on fire season this year,” Gray said. “We could get down below 50% easily this year, something I don’t even want to think about.”

Although the seasonal rainfall total is about an inch above normal, rain has not fallen in San Diego since March 2. Additionally, a dry spell in February amounted to 24 consecutive days of no rainfall, said Wilbur Shigehara, National Weather Service forecaster.

The lack of precipitation has combined with a series of Santa Ana conditions, with their typically low humidity, to dry out brush substantially.

“It’s not looking good,” Shigehara said. “Every year we think it’s going to be bad, but this year especially we’re drying out pretty darn fast.”

The three-month forecast calls for drier-than-normal conditions and higher-than-normal temperatures, Shigehara said--not welcome news to firefighters.

Plagued by High Winds

Also unwelcome would be the continuance of the unusually high winds that have plagued the county since the start of the year.

“I’ve been here over 10 years, and I can’t remember having this much wind this often,” the CDF’s Gray said. “I’ve talked to some of the other folks up here, and they’re saying the same thing.”

“If these winds continue on into the summer--good lord, I wouldn’t want to speculate on what would happen.”

An estimated 100,000 people live in the rural areas of the county, said CDF Ranger-in-Charge Barritt Neal.

Rural homeowners were urged Thursday to clear trees and brush to a distance of at least 30 feet from their buildings, in compliance with state codes. Tree limbs that come within 10 feet of a chimney also must be removed.

“Of course, ideally, people should clear much more than 30 feet,” Neal said. “When you think about, if a fire is coming up a hillside burning 18- to 20-foot brush, 30 feet (of clearance) really wouldn’t slow anything down.”