Emergency officials are urging people to know their evacuation zone and routes and take steps to help reduce fire risk around their properties.|
The Bay Area’s rainy winter and predicted periodic cool weather this summer are expected to help slow the region’s progression into peak fire season; however, officials are expecting to see an increase in grass fires due to the heavy growth that followed all that precipitation.
The Bay Area, including Sonoma and Napa counties, is projected to have below normal fire risk for the months of June and July, and normal fire potential in August and September, according to a branch of the Northern California Geographic Area Coordination Center.
The area is also expected to see cool, moist weather to periodically interrupt hotter temperatures over the next two to three months, which will help ease the transition to peak fire season, Cal Fire Division Chief Ben Nichols told the Board of Supervisors on Monday.
Nichols joined Sonoma County Fire District Chief Mark Heine and Sonoma County Emergency Management Director Jeff DuVall to brief the Board of Supervisors on the region’s wildfire readiness. Sonoma County Sheriff Eddie Engram also attended the meeting Monday but was not part of the presentation.
“Here we are again for fire season,” Heine said during the presentation. “It has arrived this weekend across the county.”
County and emergency officials are urging the public to stay up to date on evacuation routes and any steps they can take to help mitigate fire risk around their properties.
The rain, they noted, has led to significant growth for annual grasses and a trough along the West Coast could create more gusty winds this summer.
“Our grass crop is substantial and so that's going to be something that we see throughout the summer,” Nichols said.
Here are key takeaways from the update:
Brush fires expected this time of year
So far this year, Cal Fire’s Sonoma-Lake-Napa region has seen 68 fires with 126 acres burned, Nichols said. ByJune last year, the area had 75 fires with 27 acres burned.
The Crystal Fire in Napa County last week burned 57 acres, raising the burned acreage, Nichols added.
“While we have seen an uptick in fires as of late, the fire occurrence that we’ve had is not something to be concerned with,” Nichols said. “This is fire season. It’s now mid-June and we expect to be responding to vegetation fires.”
Dry wind and the “abundance of annual grasses” is expected to result in more grass and brush fires with “control complexities” especially as peak fire season nears, Nichols said.
Sonoma County Fire District responded to five brush fires last weekend, Heine said. He noted that most of those fires were sparked by people mowing grass and “trying to do the right thing.”
Heine added that grass should be mowed first thing in the morning, not in the middle of the day when temperatures peak.
Staffing up
On Monday, Cal Fire’s Sonoma-Lake-Napa unit reached peak staffing, Nichols said, with 31 engines, six bulldozers and five handcrews.
Heine emphasized the coordination across local and state agencies, noting the district gets full briefings from the National Weather Service every Monday and regularly checks in with other agencies and stakeholders “to ensure we're all operating on the same level of intelligence and planning for that week.”
He added that having Cal Fire’s air attack base at Charles M. Schulz- Sonoma County Airport keeps key “specialty resources” close by.
“We are ready, we're well positioned, the communities in Sonoma County are very well protected,” Heine said. “Even though we all wear different patches and get paychecks from different agencies, we are one team, one mission across the county.”
Know your zone and prepare your property
Fire officials on Monday stressed the importance of the public being prepared in case of a fire emergency. That preparation includes knowing neighborhood evacuation zones, signing up for emergency alert systems and creating at least 100 feet of defensible space around your home to help aid any firefighting efforts.
“It’s about doing your point to provide a defense so we can provide an offense,” Nichols said of smart brush and property management.
DuVall urged people to visit the emergency management department’s website, SoCoemergency.org, for preparedness tips and to sign up for the county’s alert system. The county will also use its website and social media to alert the public to heightened periods of fire risk during red flag warnings, DuVall said.
Evacuees from past wildfires in the region have urged fellow residents to make sure you have a go-bag ready, with quick access to other things you’ll need: personal records and prescriptions, eyeglasses, photos and other irreplaceable memorabilia, computers and backup hard drives.
Coordinating evacuation plans for your household and neighborhood, and knowing both your official evacuation zone and routes to safety are key, Nichols said.
“We just need to have the public understand that not all fires are going to be the Tubbs fire, but know your zone,” Nicholls said.
You can reach Staff Writer Emma Murphy at 707-521-5228 or emma.murphy@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @MurphReports.
