Warmer weather is quickly approaching, and so is fire season.
The likelihood of fire breaking out in Butte County is exacerbated by the wet winter that just passed because the newly sprouted vegetation acts as fuel for wildfires. But moisture in woodland areas and late season rains could also decrease the chances of a fire breaking out.
Dan Collins, the Public Information Officer for Cal Fire Butte County, said that it’s difficult to predict wildfires. However, a recent wave of hiring should help the unit in mitigating and preventing them.
“That gives us a huge advantage, not only training our troops and getting them ready for the upcoming fire season,” said Collins. “But it also provides us more personnel to provide vegetation management projects.”
In February and March, the unit hired about 140 firefighters. That’s peak staffing.
Cal Fire Butte County hired more firefighters after Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an emergency proclamation for the state following the Los Angeles County fires that called for hiring more personnel and creating fire prevention programs.
Typically, Cal Fire Butte County hires personnel in phases much closer to the start of fire season. By hiring more firefighters a few months earlier, Collins said the unit is able to get a head start on training.
“The more time that we have with our personnel, our seasonal firefighters – specifically our brand new seasonal firefighters – the more time that we have on them in the spring to prepare and train them for the upcoming season, the better it's going to be for everybody,” Collins said.
In a couple weeks, hand crews for Cal Fire will also be attending a readiness drill at the Ishi Conservation Camp. It’s a regional, annual exercise where crews are tested on fire behavior, their equipment gets assessed and they practice cutting hand lines. Collins said it’s a requirement to determine if firefighters are qualified to be part of crews for fire season.
The unit is already starting fire mitigation projects.
Last month, Cal Fire Butte County began preparing for fire season by kicking off a Vegetation Management Project in South Paradise, an area that’s about 8,000 acres wide and encompasses more than 250 landowner’s properties.
“We have heavy equipment up there, bulldozers and masticators, as well as personnel going up there every day in the form of hand crews, and fire engines going up and cutting and burning,” Collins said.
The Butte County Fire Safe Council also helped with the project.
The project is funded through the U.S. Forest Services’s Community Wildfire Defense Grant worth $1.5 million. That money was used to purchase an excavator, a transport vehicle and maintenance costs.
Here’s how YOU can prepare
Alongside the work conducted by Cal Fire Butte County, Collins said residents can also take action to minimize fires. In particular, they can work on creating defensible space, or buffer zones that have no flammable fuels, within five feet from the property. Collins said he calls this “zone zero.”
“We're encouraging folks to get rid of any flammable vegetation, any kind of a yard, furniture, flowers, anything that can burn,” Collins said.
Homes with non-flammable hardscaping resist wildfires, while homes with flammable items can catch on fire and reach homes directly.
Collins said people should also be prepared in case of an emergency, as Butte County is prone to wildfires. That starts with knowing their evacuation zone. The Butte County Sheriff’s Office and local law enforcement issue the evacuation warnings and orders.
“Knowing what zone you're in and how to access that on the fly, to figure out what zones are under a warning or an evacuation order during the fire, it's important to figure that out,” Collins said.
He also recommends people have a “to go” bag on hand in case of an emergency that people can grab quickly if they are evacuated.
The bag should include the essentials, like extra clothes, water and batteries.
