Don't let our fairly wet spring fool you, fire season is on its way to the Bay Area as we approach the driest months of the year ahead.
June through October are our driest months and coincide with our warmest temperatures. The above average rainfall may delay the usual start of "fire season" but won't prevent the inevitable prolonged dry weather, hotter temperatures and gusty winds from throttling up fire danger later in the year.
With that in mind, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection has been asking folks to fire safe their property as part of "Wildfire Awareness Week."
Simple measures such as clearing at least 100 ft. of defensible space between your home and nearby hillside brush/grasses can greatly help firefighters trying to save your home during a major wildfire. Also, by adjusting the style of roofing material away from wood-based combustible products to more modern fire-retardant composites plus sealing roof line vent areas can protect your home from airborne embers that otherwise could enter and start a fire from within your home.
This weekend, The Weather Channel will be airing a new episode on their "Storm Stories" program focusing on the Big Sur Wildfire from 2008. As you may recall that year Summer started out with two days of lightning sparked fires that at one point resulted in more than 1,000 wildfires burning at the same time over Central and Northern California.
To catch "Storm Stories: Big Sur Wildfire" tune in Saturday, May 8 at 8 p.m. PDT.
