Wildfire Awareness Week reminds those on Central Coast to stay prepared

As peak wildfire season approaches, Governor Brown is calling this week, Wildfire Awareness Week, and local Cal Fire crews and residents are preparing for fire season.

For those living in Carmel Highlands, memories of the Soberanes Fire are all too clear. Resident Sandy Hale said fire crews used his street as a mini command post to make sure flames didn’t reach the neighborhood. The fire actually had a way of bringing the community together.

“We all get together and talk about what we’re doing,” said Hale. “The one fire break that started here, goes behind all the houses, we’re all working together to make sure that fire break stays intact and gets wider.”

Which is exactly what Cal Fire crews around the area are encouraging people to do. Crews are sweeping neighborhoods to make sure everyone is taking precautions for wildfires.

“We’re trying to make sure that we have good defensible space around communities and within communities,” said Cal Fire PIO Jonathan Pangburn.

And after winter rain, there’s a lot of fine grass and fuels readily available to burn. But according to Cal Fire, it’s hard to say how bad this fire season will be. It all just depends on when and where there’s a start to a fire.

“We have the conditions for a very intense and very substantial fire season,” added Pangburn.

“Most of the neighbors walk in the canyon every day and we’re all worried about the grasses being high,” said Hale. “We think if a little fire started the whole thing would go up again and we’d be back where we started.”