As temperatures rise, so does the Central Coast’s fire danger

MONTEREY COUNTY, Calif. (KION) The River, Carmel, and CZU Lightning Complex Fire burn scars are a reminder of the fire dangers that lurk, after a dry winter and temperatures this past week well above average.

"I think there is always concern year-round in California,” said Marcia Green, while enjoying a hike at Fort Ord National Monument. "When you come out here and you walk down a road you see the whole hillside full of purple Lupins and you see another field full of California Poppies, and you don't see that any more."

The hot, dry weather is raising red flags.

“Knowing our history around this area for the past couple, to 5 years, I think that fire danger could be a big possibility,” mentioned Roberto Rios returning from a Fort Ord National Monument hike.

Causing CAL FIRE to take action earlier than normal, by bolstering their fleet to stay ahead of any flames that could ignite. 

"We've hired 81 seasonal firefighters here in the unit. They're currently doing their annual training right now, and we will be staffing 12 types three engines starting Saturday morning. And we did bring back on Monday our aircraft at the Hollister Air Attack Base, which includes the tankers and the new Fire Hawk helicopter,” said Curtis Rhodes, CAL FIRE,  Fire Captain, Prevention Battalion, and Public Information Officer.

And it won’t take long for the Central Coast’s rolling green hills to turn back to that California gold. Green vegetation might still be visible, but CAL FIRE says ground fuels across the Central Coast are currently less than 20 percent.

"With the rising temperatures and drop in relative humidity, the potential for large fires in a unit is elevated,” added Rhodes.  

Along with the wind, these three ingredients can dry out the fuels at a rapid pace. These conditions are carefully watched.  

“We do have data now with wildfire analysis and we have our analysts two in the unit who continuously monitor the fire weather and forecasting throughout the day,” Rhodes.

For those who live, work, and play in the area these heatwaves can be a little uneasy.  

“It just takes one little thing, you know, one little thing, you don’t want to be the one to start that fire," Rios.

If you live in a high risk fire area you can visit, ReadyforWildfire.org, to learn more about defensible space and permitting.