Sacramento County fire crews are urging residents to be cautious as dry and warm weather increases the risk of vegetation fires, with several incidents already reported in the area.CAL Fire has noted that this time of year typically sees more vegetation fires and controlled burns, with crews already responding to several calls in the last 24 hours.Sacramento Metro Fire demonstrated that, despite fields of green grass, the fire risk remains significant.”All it really takes is one spark to get this going,” said Mark Nunez. “But yet you see all this green grass, and in a couple of months from now, that’ll be dry.”The deceptive appearance of green grass masks the underlying fire risk.”Here in California, I think we’re pretty much a year-round now for wildland interface fires,” Nunez said. “What most people don’t understand is that there is actually dry vegetation under that green grass from last year. So it’s not very uncommon for us to have fires. In fact, we’ve already been having numerous fires since February.”Other fire districts have experienced similar incidents. Crews responded to a fire in Placer County on Sunday, which was caused by an unattended burn pile. A similar incident occurred on Friday when a property owner conducted a controlled burn but went to sleep with the pile still burning, without adequate clearance.”We want to try to educate homeowners because we are trying to encourage people to do good clearance around their properties,” said Nick Salas with Cal Fire NEU. “And burning is one of the best ways to do that. But you have to do it safely, and you have to be responsible.”In Solano County, the Quail Fire burned about 2 to 3 acres on Saturday before crews managed to control it. Fire crews are urging residents to take action now. “Now is a great time to start it because the weather’s nice, the humidity is high, and the chances of starting an accidental fire are much lower,” Nunez said. “It’s time to start thinking about clearing the vegetation on your property. And that starts with you having a couple of different options that you can do. You might want to disc, you may want to mow, you want to start thinking about creating that defensible space now.”Fire crews emphasize that the fast weather swings — snow and storms followed by heat and wind — are creating very dynamic, quickly changing fire conditions. They are asking people to mitigate dry brush responsibly.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. —
Sacramento County fire crews are urging residents to be cautious as dry and warm weather increases the risk of vegetation fires, with several incidents already reported in the area.
CAL Fire has noted that this time of year typically sees more vegetation fires and controlled burns, with crews already responding to several calls in the last 24 hours.
Sacramento Metro Fire demonstrated that, despite fields of green grass, the fire risk remains significant.
“All it really takes is one spark to get this going,” said Mark Nunez. “But yet you see all this green grass, and in a couple of months from now, that’ll be dry.”
The deceptive appearance of green grass masks the underlying fire risk.
“Here in California, I think we’re pretty much a year-round now for wildland interface fires,” Nunez said. “What most people don’t understand is that there is actually dry vegetation under that green grass from last year. So it’s not very uncommon for us to have fires. In fact, we’ve already been having numerous fires since February.”
Other fire districts have experienced similar incidents. Crews responded to a fire in Placer County on Sunday, which was caused by an unattended burn pile. A similar incident occurred on Friday when a property owner conducted a controlled burn but went to sleep with the pile still burning, without adequate clearance.
“We want to try to educate homeowners because we are trying to encourage people to do good clearance around their properties,” said Nick Salas with Cal Fire NEU. “And burning is one of the best ways to do that. But you have to do it safely, and you have to be responsible.”
In Solano County, the Quail Fire burned about 2 to 3 acres on Saturday before crews managed to control it. Fire crews are urging residents to take action now.
“Now is a great time to start it because the weather’s nice, the humidity is high, and the chances of starting an accidental fire are much lower,” Nunez said. “It’s time to start thinking about clearing the vegetation on your property. And that starts with you having a couple of different options that you can do. You might want to disc, you may want to mow, you want to start thinking about creating that defensible space now.”
Fire crews emphasize that the fast weather swings — snow and storms followed by heat and wind — are creating very dynamic, quickly changing fire conditions.
They are asking people to mitigate dry brush responsibly.