SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, Calif. (KRON) -- The Caldor, Dixie and other wildfires have put a strain on fire resources across the state.
So what happens if a major wildfire should break out in the Santa Cruz mountains or elsewhere in the Bay Area?
The sight of strike teams based in Felton leaving town Thursday to fight fires elsewhere is a bit unnerving given what happened a year ago as those same crews were battling the CZU Fire in the Santa Cruz mountains.
Indeed, local resources have been drawn down to a “critical level”, says Cal Fire Chief Ian Larkin.
How critical?
Eleven of Cal Fire’s San Mateo-Santa Cruz unit’s 13 engines, one of its two bulldozers and all but two conservation corp crews are now fighting the Caldor and Dixie fires.
Cal Fire’s Santa Clara and other units are also stretched thin.
Right now, local city and county fire departments are backing up Cal Fire through mutual aid agreements.
The critical draw down of resources comes even as crews are still snuffing out the occasional flare up from the CZU Fire in Big Basin State Park.
Cooler weather and coastal fog has resulted in fewer fires so far this summer. But what happens if lightning or something else should touch off a fast moving fire in a landscape that looks and feels like it’s late October?
from KRON4 https://ift.tt/3jGJPrv
No comments:
Post a Comment