Monday, 10 September 2007 01:52
Amador Fire Safe Council Announces Wildfire Awareness Week
The California State Fire Marshall, the California State Fire Safe
Council and Amador Fire Safe Council say this week is Wildfire Awareness Week.
All over California, wildfires are burning due to dry, hot conditions and lack
of winter rains and snow, and Cathy Koos Brea-zeal of the Amador Fire Safe
Council says we still have
6 - 8 weeks of fire season left and these coming weeks are the most dangerous
and critical as humidities continue to drop and fuels in the wildland
continue to dry out.
If you ever wondered what "wildland"
means, just look out your door. As our population continues to grow, more and
more homes are being built in the wildland-urban interface, the place where the
trees meet the people. Traditionally, before Europeans moved into California, the forest
was managed with a combination of natural fires caused by lightning, and the
native people. Due to many decades of fire suppression in the Sierra, our
forests no longer look the way they did 150 years ago. We have allowed brush to
regenerate to un-controllable levels here in the foothills and have built our
homes in those brush fields. A-F-S-C asks all Amador residents to do their part
and follow the defensible space law so we can all get through this fire season
safely. For more information
go to Amador Fire Safe.org