Even though it’s only mid-April, CalFire is gearing up for an early fire season.
By Monday, April 20, CalFire will have 21 engines staffed in the Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit, which covers Sonoma, Lake, Napa and portions of Colusa, Solano and Yolo counties – is about a month earlier than usual. This includes the CalFire station in Glen Ellen.
Normally, prior to fire season, only 11 engines are staffed in the unit. But the four-year drought has hastened things.
“We’re about a month ahead,” said Suzie Blankenship, a CalFire fire-prevention specialist. “We’ll have at least one engine staffed in each station.”
CalFire hired four defensible-space inspectors for the district and they’re already out in the field. The inspectors will be looking for fire hazards that need to be resolved before the area gets into the height of fire season.
“We’re ramping up early,” she said. “We started the first round of hiring this month. That’s a big step in getting 21 stations staffed.”
The 21 stations in the unit will be fully staffed this weekend and the Santa Rosa air attack base is scheduled to be ready on April 27. It’ll have an S2T tanker with a 1,200-gallon capacity and an air tactical plane directing plane, helicopter and ground traffic from high over the fire.
CalFire held training exercises last weekend in Amador County for CalFire and Air National Guard units.
“As the drought continues to create extreme fire conditions, it is more important than ever to train with our partners in order to be prepared for our state’s inevitable wildfires,” said Chief Ken Pimlott, director of CalFire. “During years of high fire activity, the assistance from the California National Guard has been vital in aiding us in battling large, damaging fires.”
The agency will also be holding training exercises with Marine Corps and Navy units. “Military pilots have skills we can draw upon when we need assistance on firefighting missions,” said Pimlott.
CalFire has the largest aerial firefighting fleet in the world, with more than 50 aircraft, including 11 UH-1H Super Huey helicopters.
“We’re chasing fires all year,” Blankenship said.
She pointed out that from Jan. 1 through April 4, statewide the agency had fought 588 fires with more than 3,300 acres charred. Last year in the same period, the agency fought 759 fires with more than 2,250 acres. The average for that time span is 412 fires covering 1,189 acres.
Not only are the seasonal firefighters going through training, there will be inmate crews receiving training in Konocti at the end of the month.
This is the time homeowners should be clearing defensible space around their property.
Unit Chief Scott Upton said, “Now is a critical time to clear a large portion of the required defensible space around your home. Remove brush and any dead material from within 100 feet or more while temperatures are cooler, when there is less chance of igniting a wildland fire in dry vegetation. Help us by doing your part to protect your property and increase safety for both the homeowners and firefighters.” The intent of defensible space is to increase the survivability of a “building or structure” that resides in grass, brush, and forest-covered lands in the State Responsibility Area.
For more fire information on preparing for wildfires and defensible space, visit readyforwildfire.org. Other fire prevention tips can be found at preventwildfireca.org.
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