Fire officials are hoping to get the word out this week about
what the public can do to minimize fire danger.
Fire officials are hoping to get the word out this week about what the public can do to minimize fire danger.
The California Fire Safe Council (FSC) and the California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection (CDF) launched the annual Wildfire Awareness Week public education and media campaign, which runs May 9-15.
Local councils will be using the week to encourage citizens and communities to clear defensible space and become active in community fire safety in preparation for the upcoming fire season.
This year’s theme, “It’s a Clear Choice,” has multiple meanings. In light of last year’s fire siege, Californians have a clear choice in making fire safe decisions if they live in a wildland area. Clearance, installing and maintaining a fire resistant landscape, building with fire resistant materials, being active in fire safety in the community, and reporting suspicious activity are just some of the “choices” that can make a difference.
Following the week of preparedness and awareness comes the official beginning of the 2004 fire season on May 17 by CDF’s Santa Clara Unit, Office of Emergency Services and local fire departments, including Morgan Hill’s Santa Clara County Fire Department (SCCFD) El Toro and Dunne/Hill stations.
CDF has been hiring and training seasonal firefighters and staffing stations around the clock since May 3 to prepare for the fire season. Expanded services have already been called upon, as a team of engines was sent to Southern California to help fight early fires there.
The CDF station on Monterey Road in south Morgan Hill has a display garden that features fire-resistant plants. The garden is open to the public.
The SCCFD does not hire seasonal personnel during the fire season, but staffs with extra crews on days where the burn index is high.
CDF officials were prompted to call an early beginning to the fire season by a windy and extra warm April that caused annual grasses and other vegetation to dry rapidly, creating dangerous conditions.
Because the threat of wildfires is just a spark away, fire officials are urging residents to create a “defensible space” around their homes and outbuildings. Clear all vegetation to a minimum of 30 feet from structures and clear hillsides 100 to 200 feet because of the speed fire travels up a slope and the longer flame lengths that occur with fires burning upslope.
Residents should also remove tree limbs within 10 feet of stovepipes or chimneys and dead limbs overhanging structures, and remove pine needles and leaves from rain gutters, roofs, eaves and roof valleys, and cover the opening of a chimney or flue outlet with half-inch mesh.
Officials said it is also important for the public to realize that sparks from a mower or lawn care equipment can start fires. Yard maintenance is best done before 10 a.m.
Cooler temperatures give way to heat later in the week, but gusty winds increase fire danger.
