By Julie Sevrens Lyons
San Jose Mercury News (California)
Copyright 2006 The Deseret News Publishing Co.
SAN JOSE, Calif. — California is experiencing one of its worst wildfire seasons in a decade, and the most brutal part of the season — fall — has only just begun.
A spate of new fires has popped up in recent days, with warm weather and tinderbox-dry vegetation leaving the state at risk for future blazes. On Sunday alone, 58 new fires were reported on lands overseen by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Fire experts say it’s impossible to predict whether the state will suffer devastating firestorms such as the Oakland hills fire of 1991 or the Southern California fires of 2003.
But they’re not ruling it out, either.
“The weather has definitely worked against us this year,” said Daniel Berlant, a CDF spokesman. “And historically our busiest time is September and October.”
Experts had expected a busy year, with spring rains spurring the growth of grasses and weeds. Then the summer’s record-high heat quickly dried out the vegetation, making for perfect kindling.
“It’s been years since it’s been this dry,” said Steve Anderson, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Monterey, which monitors the moisture level in trees and grasses in the Oakland hills.
It’s also been years since so many acres of wildlands have burned in the state. Already, some 172,333 acres of land within CDF’s jurisdiction have gone up in flame -- more than triple the amount at this time last year, Berlant said.
More than 386,768 acres in California’s national forests have burned this year, according to Matt Mathes, a spokesman for the USDA Forest Service. That’s more than any other year in the past decade, he said, with the exception of 1999, when 513,700 acres were lost in national forests -- many of them in October.
“The potential is there for more big fires in California this year,” Mathes said, “if history is any guide.”
Firefighters have their hands full with several big blazes throughout the state, including the Day fire in Ventura County -- one of the largest fires in state history -- which has grown to more than 134,000 acres. The Bar Complex Wildland Fire, which is actually made up of two separate fires in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, has consumed an additional 80,203 acres since it broke out more than two months ago, and it’s not even halfway contained.
On Sunday a four-alarm brush fire in San Jose’s east foothills burned 30 acres before more than 100 firefighters brought it under control. No residents were was evacuated and no structures burned.
And early Monday a three-acre wildfire broke out in Woodside, charring parts of Huddart Park. It was contained about five hours later; the cause is under investigation.
“It’s a big year,” said Berlant, who added that the state has prepared and has enough firefighters and equipment in place. But treacherous terrain and windy weather have hindered efforts there to stamp out the hot spots.
On Sunday, the National Weather Service canceled a red-flag fire warning for the Bay Area that had been in place for four days. The warnings are issued when humidity is extremely low and winds are up, rendering the region at greatest risk of wildfires. Forecasters are predicting slightly cooler weather with more humidity.
“But the humidity is still really low. We still have winds that are gusting. Just because we’re not in a red flag doesn’t mean the weather is with us,” Berlant said.
Fire officials are encouraging the public to dispose of cigarettes properly and to avoid using farm equipment and other machinery during the hottest hours of the day. All it takes is the right conditions for a small spark to get out of hand.
“A lot of it depends on day-to-day weather,” said Mathes, who doesn’t consider the fire season over until Jan. 1 rolls around.
“Some years we have found ourselves fighting fires on Christmas Day,” he said, “and even on New Year’s.”