The fire season is fast approaching, according to CAL FIRE San Luis Obispo officials, and this season is expected to be on pace with the busy fire activity seen in the past three years.
"This is that time of year when the grasses do dry out," said CAL FIRE SLO Division Chief Steve Spinharney. "They’re pretty much 100 percent cured in the inland, 80 percent cured out here. So we’re just getting into that part where we’re just going from that transitional fire season to what we called peak fire season. So we’re ready for it, we’re geared up for it."
The Central Coast got a taste of peak fire season Sunday when the Resort Fire broke out at Nacimiento Lake, and people had to be evacuated from their campsites.
"We had the adequate resources in the county to get on that fire and maintain goal of initial attack under 10 acres," Spinharney said. "This one skunked out a little between 20 acres but we still got line around it pretty quickly."
Spinharney expects drought conditions to push fire activity into full gear.
"We have so much of a dead component of fuel mixed with the live component that we’ll probably roll right into grass fires and grass fires escaping initial attack and getting into heavy brush and extended attack," Spinharney said.
Spinharney says CAL FIRE staffing is full and ready, with all 12 of their Type 3 fire engines and all hand crews at peak staffing ready to battle the next blaze.
Residents are reminded to have a ready, set, go plan and to maintain 100 feet of defensible space around their home, which is required by state law.
The goal is to create a lean, green and clean zone in the area 30 feet immediately surrounding the home.
A fuel reduction zone should be constructed in the remaining 70 feet or to the property line.
