By Alex Lane - As fall begins and students return to school, many people believe that fire season also ends at the same time. CAL FIRE Battalion Chief Dennis Townsend is reminding all Californians that fire danger remains high across the state and, even though the threat has decreased in some areas, the chance of large and damaging fires still exists. “Historically, late September and October are when we see the worst fires,” said Chief Ruben Grijalva, director of CAL FIRE . “Even though we have seen cooler temperatures and little moisture, it only takes one day of dry winds to bring the fire danger back to extreme,” he added. Throughout the past decade, California has seen many of its large and devastating fires during this time period. On October 20, 1991, the Oakland Hills Fire quickly burned over 1,500 acres, destroyed 2,900 structures and took the lives of 25 people. On October 3, 1995 , the Vision Fire in Marin County burned over 12,000 acres and destroyed 48 structures. On October 21, 2003 , over a dozen fires burned across Southern California charring over 750,000 acres, destroying 3,710 homes, and taking 24 lives. And just last year, another siege began in late October blackening over half a million acres, destroying over 3,000 homes and taking the lives of 10 people. California’s unique climate and topography lend themselves to severe wildfire conditions year round. To combat these natural conditions, the state is fully prepared with an array of equipment including fire engines, air tankers, helicopters and bulldozers. As October draws to a close, CALFIRE will strategically reposition some of its resources to areas with continued high to extreme fire danger.
Thursday, 02 October 2008 03:02
Fire Season Not Snuffed Out With End of Summer
By Alex Lane - As fall begins and students return to school, many people believe that fire season also ends at the same time. CAL FIRE Battalion Chief Dennis Townsend is reminding all Californians that fire danger remains high across the state and, even though the threat has decreased in some areas, the chance of large and damaging fires still exists. “Historically, late September and October are when we see the worst fires,” said Chief Ruben Grijalva, director of CAL FIRE . “Even though we have seen cooler temperatures and little moisture, it only takes one day of dry winds to bring the fire danger back to extreme,” he added. Throughout the past decade, California has seen many of its large and devastating fires during this time period. On October 20, 1991, the Oakland Hills Fire quickly burned over 1,500 acres, destroyed 2,900 structures and took the lives of 25 people. On October 3, 1995 , the Vision Fire in Marin County burned over 12,000 acres and destroyed 48 structures. On October 21, 2003 , over a dozen fires burned across Southern California charring over 750,000 acres, destroying 3,710 homes, and taking 24 lives. And just last year, another siege began in late October blackening over half a million acres, destroying over 3,000 homes and taking the lives of 10 people. California’s unique climate and topography lend themselves to severe wildfire conditions year round. To combat these natural conditions, the state is fully prepared with an array of equipment including fire engines, air tankers, helicopters and bulldozers. As October draws to a close, CALFIRE will strategically reposition some of its resources to areas with continued high to extreme fire danger.
