Monterey County facing ‘very high’ fire risk this year
Hillsides once green, now California gold. The state’s drought has taken its toll on Central Coast hillsides and forests.
“Various diseases killed off a lot of trees, so we’re dealing with huge die offs of trees in our forested areas,” said Fire Chief Gaudenz Panholzer with Monterey Fire.
The rain this past winter actually made things worse, it allowed grassy fields to grow. But now that they’re dry, there’s an increased risk of fires starting.
“And that’s really what defines the severity of a fire season,” said Panholzer, “is the numbers of fires that actually start.”
And this year has already set a new record. According to fire officials, roughly 12,000 acres have burned in Monterey County.
“Here we are at the end of June and Monterey County has already burned more acreage this year than we did the last three years combined,” noted Panholzer.
Now a lot of this can be attributed to the weather, where California really only has two seasons, wet and dry.
“When summer rolls around, our micro-climates really show their faces where we see cool and damp conditions at the coast but just a short ways inland we see really hot temperatures which really dries out the fuels,” said Larry Smith, Meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
Many of the residents across the Central Coast may be aware of the current fire threat, but with summer starting to boost tourism, local agencies are trying to get the word out to those who may not be aware.
Especially in areas along the Carmel Highlands and Big Sur, where fire officials are already seeing evidence of illegal campfires.
“Well certainly we do what we can, but it’s very difficult to hit that target audience,” said Panholzer, “because they travel from places where this isn’t a risk they’re familiar with.”
To making things more challenging, Mother Nature won’t be cooperating anytime soon either.
“Into next week or so we’re looking at above normal temperatures and really dry conditions,” said Smith, “but the good news is there’s no big wind events coming up.”
As of now, fire officials are continuing to make sure everyone in Monterey County and across the Central Coast is prepared.