Fire crews prepare for possible busy fire season amid COVID-19 pandemic

FELTON, Calif. (KION) A dry winter is drawing concerns over a busy fire season in California. In 2019, from January to May there were 675 fires state wide. There have already been 1,135 this year.

“The potential for a large devastating fire is still there, and could be rapidly accelerated with this drying period,” Cal Fire Santa Cruz Chief Ian Larkin said.

COVID-19 hasn't hindered any fire mitigation in Santa Cruz, according to Cal Fire. However, there are new social distancing changes during inspections and the hiring process the last few months is different.

“Typically when we hire back our seasonal workforce we put on, what we call, a returnee academy, which is a refresher training and also some new training that comes up during the year,” Larkin said.

The last round of hires didn't go through an academy and instead were just trained by their on duty captain.

There will be new hires, too. Governor Gavin Newsom announced 600 new fire fighters will be added this fire season. It's still unclear how many locally, but Larkin said they're boosting their staff earlier than normal this year.

Newsom said this week the state has up to now focused its energy on fire abatement in 200 vulnerable communities in addition to completing 35 high-profile vegetation and fuel management projects, including the one remaining unfinished project along Highway 17 in the Santa Cruz Mountains that should be completed within the next week.

Newsom also announced this year’s budget would include $127 million in enhancements to the state Office of Emergency Services, which includes wildfire preparation and suppression strategies.