Local firefighting agencies anticipating an active fire season during upcoming summer months
SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. - Central Coast firefighting agencies are taking the time during Wildfire Preparedness Month to warn the public it expects a busy fire season during the upcoming summer months.
"As we approach summer, we're getting closer to announcing fire season here within the county," said Scott Safechuck, Santa Barbara County Fire Department public information officer. "You can tell that with the warmer weather, you can see on the hillsides that our vegetation is starting to turn brown, and the grass is that first indicator of that, especially in the North County, and it will transition to the South County as things warm up here."
Late winter rains, combined springtime precipitation, was a welcome sight over the past couple of months.
The recent storms helped bring much-needed rainfall to the Central Coast, but it also helped fuel significant vegetation growth hillsides and other open spaces throughout Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.
With vegetation beginning to dry out, especially after enduring warmer than usual temperatures over the past few days, firefighting agencies predict increased chances of wildfires.
"We can expect to see an above average increase of significant wildfires starting in and around July," said Fleming Bertelsen, Los Padres National Forest public information officer. "We're still kind of in a drying trend. You look around and we're seeing the light, flashy fuels transition from green to brown and it's happening very abruptly. This last weekend it was kind of a dramatic change, so it's something giving us a heads up."
