Firefighters expect containment tonight of Mount Hamilton
blaze
With rising temperatures forecast for the next few days coupled with low humidity, the fairly mild weather the area has faced most of the summer could turn into a potential problem for area fighters and a drain on energy supplies.
“We started out the summer very hot, but since then it has been very mild,” California Department of Forestry Assistant Information Officer Pam Rhoten said Monday. “So we have not had as dangerous a fire season perhaps as other years. However, the fire future very much depends on what the weather is.”
Crews are fighting a 1,000-acre fire on Mount Hamilton in the hills northeast of Morgan Hill. Containment of the fire, which is expected to grow by 400 to 500 acres, is expected by 8 p.m. tonight.
The fire started Sunday at approximately 2 p.m.; the cause is under investigation. As of Monday afternoon, Rhoten said, 10 structures were threatened, but two homes have been saved.
There were no injuries as of Monday when the fire was 35 percent contained.
“At the moment, we have four copters there, two air tankers and a fixed-wing aircraft to coordinate the aircraft and their attack,” said Rhoten Monday afternoon. “We also have seven hand crews, four dozers and 30 engines.”
The area, Kincaid off Mt. Hamilton Road, is scattered ranch homes and range land, with heavy brush and oak; the fire has a high potential for growth.
There are approximately 350 firefighters battling the blaze, including crews from the Morgan Hill CDF station and SCCFD crews, plus San Jose Fire, Alameda County, Milpitas Fire, Spring Valley Volunteers, the Santa Clara Valley Water District and CDF units from outside Santa Clara County.
Although the National Weather Service predicts a rise in temperatures in the Morgan Hill area to the low- to mid-90’s for the next few days, the area is expected to have a return to mildness by Friday and the weekend, with temperatures forecast in the mid- to upper-80’s.
Fire danger is gauged by a number of different factors.
“We have a daily fire index, a number that tells us how dangerous it is out there,” Rhoten said. “The index is determined by what the air temperature is, what the temperature of the fuel, what is the humidity and the wind speed.”
Of course, Rhoten said, conditions can quickly change. The best defense, Jarvis said, is for area residents to be prepared, creating a “defensible space” around their homes, with brush cleared and woodpiles moved away from structures.
And be careful while creating that defensible space, Jarvis said.
“It is ironic that every year we have at least one fire started by a person trying to do the right thing and clear brush around their home,” he said. “Residents should do any brush clearing and mowing early in the day, before 10 a.m., when the humidity is higher. As the temperature rises and the humidity lowers in the afternoon, it is more likely that a spark from a mower or other equipment could start a fire.”
On Sunday, California’s power grid manager had issued a power watch, urging residents to cut back their electricity usage.
There was little immediate danger of blackouts
The state’s Independent System Operator manages much of California’s power grid.
Industry experts, citing improvements in transmission lines and the construction of new power plants, said a repeat of the rolling blackouts of 2001 is unlikely this summer.
