It’s summer, which means beach traffic, sunscreen and a fire season fast approaching, meaning Cal Fire’s San Mateo-Santa Cruz unit is bracing for what’s to come.
Cal Fire, short for California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, is a state agency charged with fighting wildfires by San Mateo County. As fire season peaks, it focuses on prescribed burns and laying “good fire” on the ground to clear vegetation that could serve as fuel for future fires. On June 30, it performed burns at the Filoli Historic House and Garden and the San Andreas Dam on the SFPUC Peninsula watershed.
Last week, the window for mandatory burns was still open, said Jonathan Cox, deputy chief of the Cal Fire San Mateo division. However, as soon as the hot summer weather dries up the vegetation, the device switches to the high-season fire mode. During the high season, the focus will be on emergency response and firefighting.
“I think the summer gets the most attention because that’s when we’re out fighting fires…but there’s just as much if not more work in the fire-free months,” Cox said.
After the end of the fire season in the fall, the unit will focus on prescribed burns, as it did in the spring. Fire was once an important part of California’s ecosystems and pre-settlement Indigenous land management practices, and Cal Fire is attempting to bring “good fire” back to the ground after a long firefighting routine. The agency has been working to bring fires back to the landscape since the 1980s, said Rich Sampson, ranger and Cal Fire San Mateo-Santa Cruz division chief.
Smaller, controlled burns reduce the risk of large, runaway fires by clearing dry grass and vegetation. They can also be used to improve ecosystem biodiversity and control invasive plant species.
“We need to make sure that good fire is brought back into this landscape to make sure it comes back into balance,” Cox said.
During the winter, the unit will work on vegetation management projects like shaded fuel breaks, which act as a buffer in wooded areas by removing undergrowth plants. These fuel disruptions can slow the progression of a wildfire and provide firefighters with a “line of defense,” Cox said.
In early spring, the unit conducts tenable space inspections for homeowners before beginning mandatory burns again. Cal Fire recommends property owners maintain 100 feet of defensible space around their buildings by reducing potential combustibles such as long grass and dead plants. For a more detailed guide on maintaining defensible space, visit Cal Fire’s website.
“We can’t be successful without the homeowners doing their part,” Cox said, adding that the unit has solid adherence from homeowners.
“One bright spot in the last five years of great fire destruction is that people are now hypersensitive,” he said.
funding increase
Another bright spot is the amount of money that has been invested in fighting forest fires in recent years. $50,000 in grants used to be a good year for CZU [San Mateo-Santa Cruz unit] Unity, said Sampson. Today, Cal Fire has nearly $28 million to work with.
“A lot of the pieces have come together over the past few years,” Cox said. “The investment in Cal Fire was huge.”
That money comes mostly from grants, but a 2019 executive order by Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency and prioritized 35 projects across California. The order increased funding and reduced regulatory requirements for these projects, including two in San Mateo County.
Funds from grants are used to expand the unit’s fire prevention, preparedness and suppression capabilities. New equipment, more projects and an increase in staff are the result of this inflow of funds. A new fire facility will open in La Honda in 2024, according to Cox, and fuel management projects are taking place across the county.
collaboration and coordination
Of course, Cal Fire doesn’t do this work alone. Preventing wildfires is a collaborative effort, and agencies often work together on projects. Cal Fire is contracted by the county to fight wildfires and undertakes projects with other organizations such as the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, State Parks, and the San Mateo Resource Conservation District. The San Andreas Dam fire in June of this year was an annual collaboration between the CZU entity and the SFPUC, which owns the land in the peninsula’s watershed. Cal Fire is also working with State Parks and the San Mateo RCD on a forest health project at Butano State Park. Fire Safe San Mateo is a nonprofit organization that brings together nearly 20 entities including county fire departments, Cal Fire, SFPUC, RCD, county parks and more to work on vegetation management and fire safety.
It is “enormously important” advice, Cox said.
forecast
Fire season predictions are difficult and many past forecasts have been incorrect, Samson said. However, the rainy winter could play a role in the origin of this year’s wildfires. It may have worked wonders against the drought, but it also provided plenty of new plant growth. Sampson said a lot of fog kept crop moisture high during the long weeks of June, but that vegetation will be excellent fuel for wildfires once it dries up in the hot summer sun.
“We expect it to be an active fire year, and it really depends on… heat and wind,” Cox said. The heavy rains also damaged fire roads and resulted in downed trees and flooding. Fixing these roads is “vitally important,” Sampson said, because they allow engines to get close to fires and stop them before they get out of control.
Cal Fire works with landowning agencies, such as county and state parks, when they need fire roads to be repaired. Teams are out clearing fallen trees while landowners are responsible for flushing and any engineering work required. This can be a long-term process.
“The damage we’ve suffered this winter,” he said, “I don’t know if we’re going to have a full idea of the impact over the next year or two.”
Are there any forecasts for this year?
“Ask me in December,” Sampson said.
