Where There's Smoke, There's Fire

July 30, 2006

Smoke is often the only tangible reminder that wildland fires are burning and lately in some areas of the County, the smoke has been palpable. Two new fires preceded my return trip from Sacramento on Monday, July 31st. I witnessed smoke billowing above Mount Konocti from a fire burning near Kelseyville. More impressive were the visible flames and the heat felt in the cab of my pickup as I drove past the human caused Walker fire, which burnt 104 acres just south of Willits. Much larger fires continue to burn in California, one of which in Mendocino County is the lightening caused Hunter fire located 19 miles southeast of Covelo in the Black Butte River watershed. The Hunter fire has burnt 4,931 acres and has been 15% contained by 554 personnel.

I was able to glean from data provided by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection for 2006 that the sector starting the highest numbers of fires in California was equipment use such as mowers, but it was unclear to me which fire causing sector resulted in the greatest number of acres burnt. However, it is clear that humans can play a significant role is causing or preventing the ignition of wildfires. Go to www.nifc.gov/fireinfo/prevention for tips on how to prevent wildfires. Most human caused wildfires can be prevented by using common sense.

The cost of fire suppression per acre varies widely depending on several factors including type and amount of vegetation, terrain, accessibility, home density and weather conditions but a rule of thumb is that for every $1 spent on prevention $10 is saved in suppression, which does not include lives, animals, homes and natural resources.

If you live in an urban wildland interface where your home and nature intersect, chances are, there are steps that you have not yet taken to reduce fire hazard. Fortunately, there are numerous resources at your disposal. They include the Mendocino County Fire Safe Council whose mission is to educate and motivate our countyís residents about wildfire preparedness. The Mendocino Fire Safe Council encourages you to contact them. They will provide fire safety educational materials, including delivering to groups presentations about wildfire issues. They can be contacted at firesafe@pacific.net or 462-3662. For additional guidance about how to make your home and immediate area more fire safe, go to www.firewise.org and click on resources. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the Headquarters of which can be contacted at 459-7414, and your local fire departments are also excellent resources, both of whom were instrumental in informing a more fire safe driveway, turnaround, fire hydrant and water system design on our property in Navarro. To keep up to date on the fires burning on federal lands in the State go to the Incident website at www.inciweb.org.

I welcome responses as well as ideas for future Tree Tips. You can also get an email version by contacting me at thembi@mcn.org or go to www.nwwg.org, click on Resources and click on Tree Tips.

Thembi Borras is a Registered Professional Forester living and working in Mendocino County, CA USA.