Oct. 8—Compared to recent catastrophic wildfire seasons in California, this one has been relatively mild. Just a few small ignitions have occurred in Marin County, and only 303,000 acres have burned statewide, compared to a five-year average of 1.3 million acres, according to Cal Fire.
“There are just a lot less fires this year,” said Chief Jason Weber of the Marin County Fire Department. “I think that is in part due to the public’s due diligence for being fire-safe, and we’ve also had weather conditions that are more moderate.”
Local fire agencies and public land managers are taking advantage of the favorable conditions to conduct controlled burns, clear vegetation and create fire buffers around communities. In recent days, crews from local and state agencies conducted burns on 96 acres of a private ranch near northern San Rafael and Novato.
Weber said if weather conditions hold, other burns are planned in China Camp State Park and the Marin Municipal Water District watershed. A burn planned for Tuesday through Thursday on Mount Tamalpais will treat up to 34 acres of built-up vegetation between Stinson Beach and Mill Valley in the southwestern area of the watershed.
“This is something that the district has been planning with them on for a while now, it’s just been tough to get the stars to align with the right environmental conditions plus the availability of Marin County Fire to be able to implement,” said Marin Municipal Water District spokesperson Adriane Mertens, noting that rain in the forecast for Monday could impact the project schedule.
The reduced fires in Marin and across the state have allowed local fire crews to remain in the county to focus on vegetation projects. Compared to past years when firefighters have been away for months at a time, Marin County Fire Department crews were only gone for 10 days to provide aid at the Six Rivers Complex in northern California, Weber said.
“A lot of our focus over the next few weeks will be these controlled burns,” Weber said. “It’s been hard for us to do these the last seven years because our resources have been on fires all the way across the state. We’re taking advantage of this window to get a lot of this important work done.”
A series of heavy storms that drenched the state and ended a three-year drought this past winter has helped prevent vegetation from drying out as quickly. The north and northeast winds in northern California that can occur this time of year and cause concern for a fast-moving blaze are more subdued and are expected to remain that way into next week, according to the National Weather Service.
“In terms of fire concerns, right now it is a bit elevated because of the low relative humidity,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Crystal Oudit. “But with the winds being so light, I guess you can say it’s a bit of a relief in that area.”
Marin is expected to have some light rainfall on Monday, with about a tenth of an inch forecast in some areas, Oudit said.
Live vegetation fuel moisture levels are at about 67% in the county, which Weber said is above what is considered the critical level of 60%.
“That is a good indication that the fuels absorbed a lot of water we had this last winter and even into spring,” Weber said.
Mark Brown, executive officer of the Marin Wildfire Prevention Authority, said the National Geographic Area Coordination Center run by the state and federal agencies shows northern California has an average potential for large fire growth.
“That’s better than above average but not as good as below average,” Brown said.
The Marin County Wildfire Prevention Authority has been working to clear defensible space around communities and homes this year. Residents have conducted $3.4 million worth of home hardening projects to clear defensible space around their homes, aided by $485,000 in grants from the authority. Brown said the agency also has conducted 27,000 home inspections.
Brown said the authority had to pause accepting new grant applications because of the number of requests, which are expected to expend the $800,000 in grant funds budgeted this year.
While conditions are looking better compared to past years, local fire officials say now is not the time for residents to let their guard down because conditions can change. Brown recommends that residents put together an emergency bag and practice evacuation.
As the leaves begin to fall, Brown recommends residents look where the leaves are building up on their properties and make sure they clear those areas.
“The same wind flows that move those leaves, that’s exactly where the embers are going to go,” Brown said.
“When you look at fire history across the state, especially in Marin County, October is when we have fires when we have significant growth and loss,” Weber said. “This is peak season for us here in Marin so we need everybody to stay vigilant, create defensible space and together we can be successful in avoiding a disaster.”
___
(c)2023 The Marin Independent Journal (Novato, Calif.)
Visit The Marin Independent Journal (Novato, Calif.) at www.marinij.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
