Amador County – On Monday, November 1st, at 8 am,, the Amador-El Dorado-Sacramento-Alpine Unit (AEU) of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) will transition into their “winter preparedness” level of staffing. This means most seasonal fire fighting personnel will be laid off and some outlying fire stations will be closed. Keep in mind AEU’s staffing levels are sufficient to respond to local emergencies and CAL FIRE is always prepared to call back additional resources if fire weather conditions change.

AEU’s Chief Bill Holmes says that “in this challenging economic period, down staffing is prudent based on the current and forecasted weather conditions. We need to manage our resources to the best of our ability and administer our budget responsibly.”

Chief Holmes adds “this is an excellent opportunity to work on your defensible space. Establishing the 100 foot barrier around your home and outbuildings on your property is the best defense against a wildfire and since the weather is cool and you can pile and burn the vegetation, the time is now.”

Burn restrictions have been lifted and CAL FIRE residential burn permits are no longer required for four by four foot debris piles (vegetation only).

The local Air Quality Management Districts (AQMD) govern burn/no burn day status so make sure you call the burn information line immediately prior to burning. In addition, your local AQMD may still require a permit for burning.

For additional information on burning safely, defensible space and other fire and life safety topics, please visit the CAL FIRE website at www.fire.ca.gov.

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.