Big construction projects in Downtown San Francisco have stalled, leaving carpenters, plumbers, painters and other professionals and tradespeople short of work.

Big-ticket permit applications at the city’s Department of Building Inspection have plummeted, as office, apartment and tenant improvement projects in the Financial District have been put on hold or canceled, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

The statistics only include jobs worth $5 million or more. From January through August, builders filed for 42 such permits, worth a total of $1.4 billion in electrical, plumbing and building jobs.

It’s on pace to rival 2020, when pandemic lockdown rules didn’t allow for nonessential construction, which included commercial and retail projects. That year there were 60 big-ticket permit applications totaling $1.3 billion.

Last year, 86 such permit applications were filed, for $2.9 billion in work.

The number of big construction projects this year is on track to be 70 percent less than 2018, when 184 permits were pulled for projects in excess of $5 million, for $7.3 billion worth of jobs.

Construction industry leaders blame the steep decline in construction on a drop in tenant improvement projects related to office leases.

With office buildings still at less than 50 percent capacity and a majority of Financial District workers operating remotely much of the week, San Francisco saw 2.6 million square feet of office leasing through June, on pace to end the year with about 5 million square feet.

That’s less than the 6.5 million square feet of leasing that took place last year and fewer than the 11 million square feet of deals completed in 2019 or the 13 million in 2018.

Workers who rely on tenant improvements – architects, carpenters, electrical contractors, drywallers, painters, plumbers, movers and HVAC technicians – are hustling to make up for lost income.

There are now 1,300 union construction workers out of work in San Francisco, according to Rudy Gonzalez, secretary-treasurer for the San Francisco Building Trades Council.

“For some crafts, (tenant improvements) may be one-third of their hours and for others it might be half,” Gonzalez told the Chronicle. “Most of that work has dried up.”

Patrick O’Riordan, director of the Department of Building Inspection, said the construction business is boom or bust.

The permitting slowdown is still busier than it was in 2010 and 2011, when the city was recovering from the Great Recession. In 2010, the city saw 28 permit applications for work that exceeded $5 million, for a total of $728 million in work.

“Everyone who has ever worked in construction knows it’s a cyclical business,” O’Riordan said. “As a former carpenter, I know this cycle firsthand.”

— Dana Bartholomew

Read more

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LATEST Feb 22, 5:25 pm A cold front that finally brought rain into the Bay Area on Tuesday had another surprise: snow and hail.

There were several reports Tuesday afternoon of hail in the East Bay, including in Oakland and San Ramon.

No that’s not snow! We have received several reports of #hail falling all across the East Bay, here’s what it looked like in San Ramon. According to ABC7 Meteorologist @DrewTumaABC7 our best chance for hail is now until 8 pm Latest on winter #storm here: https://t.co/n3QBk9wFzc pic.twitter.com/MVeRP9m9lC

— LiveDoppler7 (@LiveDoppler7) February 23, 2022

There was also seen snow falling near Dublin.

Snow falling now near Dublin! pic.twitter.com/83DXqd2Ddo

— Mike Nicco (@MikeNiccoABC7) February 22, 2022

Feb 22, 1 pm The San Francisco Bay Area could have its coldest night of the year after scattered rain showers passed through the region on Monday, ending a 44-day dry streak for the region.

The National Weather Service’s Bay Area office announced Tuesday that a “freeze warning” is in effect for the interior areas of the Bay Area, the North Bay, and the Central Coast overnight, with freezing temperatures expected in these areas between 2 am on Wednesday and 9 am on Friday.

Sub-freezing temperatures are expected during the overnight & early morning hours over the next several days. A Freeze Warning is in effect for interior areas. Take action now to prepare and check on those without adequate access to shelter, including your pets. #CAwx #BayAreaWX pic.twitter.com/mfLJxk3Ny3

— NWS Bay Area (@NWSBayArea) February 22, 2022

Temperatures could fall into the mid-20s to low 30s in some areas. NWS forecaster Brayden Murdoch says the NWS is looking at temperatures hitting as low as 28 degrees in some areas, which, he says, signifies a “hard freeze.” A hard freeze can destroy plants, damage unprotected outdoor equipment and be a danger to people.

The NWS noted Santa Rosa and Gilroy might break record lows overnight. ABC 7 forecaster Drew Tuma also pointed out on Twitter that the low in San Francisco may drop to 39 degrees, which would be the coldest temperature in the city in the past six years.

If San Francisco drops to 39°, it’ll be the coldest night in more than 6 years. We have a chance to drop that low tonight and tomorrow night

— Drew Tuma (@DrewTumaABC7) February 22, 2022

In anticipation of the hard freeze, the weather service warns people to take action now “and check on those without adequate access to shelter, including your pets.”

“This will not be just one night of colder temperatures, but several nights in a row,” the NWS said.

A view of the fresh snowfall at Palisades Tahoe on Feb. 22, 2022. Up to a foot of snow fell on the slopes of Palisades Tahoe from the most recent storm.

Palidades Tahoe

Feb 22, 11 am While San Francisco got its first rain in weeks on Monday night, a storm rolled into the Lake Tahoe region and delivered the first significant snow in weeks. South Tahoe Now reports that many ski areas got a foot of snow overnight. The site also reports that “another 2-5″ of snow at lake level is possible by the time the weather system exits tonight.”

Here are some of the overnight snow totals:

Heavenly — 12″

Kirkwood — 7″

Mount Rose — 12-14″

North Star — 13″

Palisades — 12″

A view of the fresh snowfall at Palisades Tahoe on Feb. 22, 2022. Up to a foot of snow fell on the slopes of Palisades Tahoe from the most recent storm.

Kate Abraham/Palidades Tahoe

Feb 22, 6:30 am Isolated showers fell through parts of the Bay Area overnight, the National Weather Service reported, ending a 44-day streak of zero precipitation from January 8 through February 20. NWS forecaster Brayden Murdoch told SFGate that “this is fairly light” but everyone in the Bay Area should get a little.

But given the long dry spell, even a little rain prompted some serious enthusiasm from the weather service, including a video posted on Twitter that celebrated the glorious .004″ of rain that fell in San Francisco.

Happy 2-22-22! If you can’t tell we’re pretty excited by the rain Here’s the most recent radar loop showing scattered showers and high elevation snow showers. Showers will continue through the day with an afternoon tstorm possible. #cawx pic.twitter.com/PjlpTrzXHR

— NWS Bay Area (@NWSBayArea) February 22, 2022

The weather service says the showers “will continue through the day with an afternoon ‘thunderstorm’ possible.”

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SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) — The once lush green hillsides nourished by the mid-winter rains will continue to turn brown and fire prone this week as a slow-moving high pressure system buffets the San Francisco Bay Area with bone-dry winds and temperatures soaring to near record highs, forecasters predicted Monday.

The National Weather Service said temperatures will reach the low 90s on Thursday in the South Bay and only be prevented from setting new records from San Francisco to San Jose because of a similar heat wave in 1989.

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During that record heat, downtown San Francisco reached 91, Redwood City 90 and Gilroy 96.

“It should be noted that a similar heat wave occurred in early April back in 1989 and many of those records may stand still,” the weather service said. “Therefore, it is uncertain how many records may or may not be broken.”

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Normally at this time of year, forecasters said, the average temperature in the Bay Area hovers around degrees so most areas will at 15-20 degrees over that by mid-week.

One other thing is for certain, with every passing high pressure system, the hillsides will dry out just a little bit more.

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“The recent rains brought a brief reprieve on fire weather charts, but that will be quickly erased,” the weather service said. “Heightened fire weather concerns will return by weeks end with warm, dry, and breezy conditions.”

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SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) — It may have been less than a shot glass, but the 0.01 inches of rain that fell late Monday night in San Francisco broke a 44-day streak of zero precipitation dating back to January 8th.

There was a one-word reaction on the National Weather Service’s twitter page.

yes

YES!#CAwx pic.twitter.com/3O4cZFRWal

— NWS Bay Area (@NWSBayArea) February 22, 2022

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Since that time, the total has risen to 0.04 of an inch. The dry winter dry spell was the second longest during the traditional rainy season training only the 60 days from Nov 17, 1876 to Jan 15, 1877.

While showers were light in the Bay Area, the front was pelting the Sierra with a snowstorm that could dump as much as a foot at the higher elevations. Chain controls were in place early Tuesday in the high passes on Highway 50 and I-80.

Chances for even more rainfall will linger over the San Francisco Bay Area throughout the day as the a layer of cold, unstable air floats over the region.

“Isolated to scattered rain showers persist over the region this morning within the cold, unstable air mass aloft,” the weather service said. “These rain showers are likely to continue through today before diminishing from north to south late tonight and into early Wednesday morning.”

The unstable air could trigger brief hail storms and lightning — a fire threat in the hills dried out during the dry spell.

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“There’s going to be a lot of cold air in the upper levels of the atmosphere. That increases how unstable the atmosphere is, which increases the threat of cloud-to-ground lightning,” explained First Alert Chief Meteorologist Paul Heggen. “The unstable environment, coupled with the cold air, will also allow some small hail to fall out of any showers that manage to become thunderstorms.”

The Monterey area will get the most rain, according to the weather service, about half an inch in the Santa Lucia Range.

Once the rain showers wind down Tuesday evening, cold temperatures will take over for the rest of the week. Most of the North Bay is under a Freeze Watch for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday mornings. That’s likely to be upgraded to Freeze Warning, as temperatures will drop to the mid to upper 20s in the early mornings.

Other inland parts of the Bay Area will drop to near freezing, which will prompt a Frost Advisory. Bay Area residents are advised to take care to protect sensitive vegetation and outdoor plumbing, and make sure outdoor pets have a warm place to shelter.

“The coldest temperatures will likely occur Thursday morning when lows drop into the mid 20 in the coldest portions of the North Bay Valleys and interior Monterey County,” the weather service warned.

Later in the week, dry conditions will return.

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“High pressure over the eastern Pacific will build back toward the California coast late in the week and into the upcoming weekend,” the weather service said. “This will result in a slight warming trend and return to dry weather conditions. Longer range guidance suggest a return to unsettled conditions early next week, yet rainfall does not look overly impressive.”

The post ‘Sure’ — Climate Service Response To In a single day Showers; 44-Day Dry Spell Ends – CBS San Francisco appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – An Oklahoma daughter named KFOR is trying to get a refund for her parents after a plumber allegedly abandoned her.

Paula Mason’s plumbing problem lasted far too long.

We met her for the first time in early August. She explained to our team a few months earlier that her parents’ house needs to be repaired immediately.

“We just thought it was a blockage,” said Paula. “I found out it was a broken line, a broken line.”

Flood victims in Oklahoma are waiting months longer for answers

The Freemasons as they speak to KFOR.

She hired a man named Steve Maxson and paid $ 3,100. Paula says work stalled shortly afterwards.

She would eventually hire another plumber. However, Maxson’s promises of a refund were unsuccessful.

“He kept saying he had to get it from the seller,” said Paula. “Had to go to his salespeople and get the money back.”

IN YOUR CORNER: Frustration grows when customers wait months for portable buildings

In our attempts to reach Steve, we reached his father Stephen Maxson Sr.

Stephen Sr. is a plumber himself and has his own business in eastern Oklahoma.

He told our team that he was unaware of Paula’s situation and that his son was not properly licensed.

News 4 eventually reached Steve Jr., who announced to our team that he would issue a refund.

“Yes, I’ll set that up for you,” he told our team on the phone.

IN YOUR CORNER: Workers wait weeks for paychecks

However, this was already the case in August. Paula told KFOR that she hadn’t heard from the Maxsons in a while.

That is, until this last weekend. Paula announced to our team that she received a full refund in the mail.

While In Your Corner was happy to help tie the two sides together, that success really rests with Paula!

She tells our team that she has contacted government agencies and obtained information about the insurance provider from Stephen Sr.’s company.

Paula’s update shows persistence. When faced with such a crisis with a contractor, In Your Corner urges consumers to try all available options.

Conclude

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DUBLIN (KPIX) – More hungry wildlife is venturing into the backyards of the Bay Area because of the drought.

The total rainfall in the Bay Area this year is well below normal and according to the United States Drought Monitor, the counties of Alameda and Contra Costa are experiencing exceptional drought conditions.

CONTINUE READING: Brain-eating amoeba kills Tehama County boys

In East Bay Regional Parks, this means wetlands and ponds are drying up and many of the native plants and trees are dying, taking a huge toll on wildlife.

“You come in – this is the best restaurant in town if you’re a deer or something,” says Dayle Hall.

He has fenced off deer around his vegetable garden and other parts of the property. Hall has lived on the border of Las Trampas Regional Park for 10 years and sees plenty of wildlife moving through the area but says there is more than ever this year.

“We get a lot of deer coming down in search of food – food, water, whatever,” he says.

The drought is taking its toll, according to experts at East Bay Regional Parks.

“This is one of the worst years we have ever known. We see that many of our ponds and streams dry out extremely early, ”says Matt Graul, Chief of Stewardship of the EBRPD.

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This means that all kinds of animals come into the neighborhood in greater numbers and more frequently to look for something to eat or drink

“Coyotes move to areas they haven’t moved to before, again because they’re looking for water,” says Peter Flowers, who runs the Lindsay Wildlife Hospital in Walnut Creek.

Quite a few people in West Dublin have captured coyotes wandering the neighborhoods with surveillance cameras at home and then posted their footage on social media sites like NextDoor.

Dayle says he also sees more wild turkeys, skunks, and raccoons.

“Animals usually come later. I would say earlier in the evening, when it’s not that dark, they are a bit more confident or desperate, however you want to look at it, ”he says.

EBRPD officials say they already have plans to make their country more drought resilient. It is planned to increase the water capacity in all parks by expanding existing ponds and restoring natural streams.

“Now we just want to speed up our efforts and what can we do, things that we have planned in a couple of years and say how can we do it faster? possible because we really don’t have time to wait any longer, ”says Graul.

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Flowers says while the animals are stressed from the drought and may be roaming the neighborhood more regularly, it’s important not to expose them to food or water. He says the animals will become dependent on it and will never return to their natural habitat.

The post Extra Wild Animals Feeding In Backyards As Crops Dry Up In East Bay Parks – CBS San Francisco appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

MENDOCINO (AP) – Tourists flock to the seaside town of Mendocino by the thousands for its Victorian homes and cliff walkways, but visitors this summer will also find public portable toilets and signs on picket fences asking, “Severe drought. Please save water. “

Hotels closed their lobby toilets and residents stopped watering their gardens in the misty outpost about 150 miles north of San Francisco after two years of little rain drained many of the wells Mendocino depends on for drinking water.

Mendocino’s water problems were exacerbated in recent weeks when the town of Fort Bragg a few miles further north – its main reserve water supplier – notified officials that its drinking water reserves had also plummeted after the Noyo River reached its lowest flow in decades.

“This is a real emergency,” said Ryan Rhoades, superintendent of the Mendocino City Community Services District, who helps manage the water in the city’s aquifer.

Eric Hillesland and his wife would normally not have to buy water until the end of July or August to supply the Alegria Inn, their 10-room bed and breakfast right on the ocean. But the estate’s well began pumping little water earlier in the year, and by February they were ordering 3,500 gallons (13,250 liters) a week.

Then the couple stopped watering the gardens and switched from glass to paper plates to serve welcome cookies. You plan to use microfiber sheets that use less water to wash.

“We also ask our guests to be aware of the severity of our water shortage and not to take the long showers they are used to at home,” said Hillesland.

Mendocino relies on groundwater, accessible through a network of around 400 private wells, many of which were hand dug when the former mill town was founded in the 1850s. Local residents and business owners keep their water in storage tanks, including some on historic redwood water towers.

Signs warn visitors of the severe drought in Mendocino on Wednesday 4th August 2021. Tourists flock to the quaint seaside town of Mendocino for its Victorian homes and cliff walkways, but visitors will also find portable public toilets and dozens of picket fences this summer announcing the quaint Northern California hamlet: “Severe drought, please save water.” (AP Photo / Haven Daley)

The city has about 1,000 residents, but its economy depends on about 2,000 people visiting daily during the high season from May to October, Rhoades said.

Traditionally, companies had to fetch water in autumn. But after a second dry winter, many had to order much earlier than before.

Due to the pandemic and stay-at-home orders, there were few visitors last year when townspeople noticed their fountains were producing less. The Bay Area and Sacramento weekend getaway is now teeming with guests.

This has forced local residents and business owners to find sources of drinking water further away, which has doubled the price of water. Some restaurants are reducing their opening hours to save costs.

In February, Hillesland paid $ 300 for a delivery of 3,500 gallons (13,250 liters). Now it costs $ 600.

If things get worse and they need to start closing rooms, “then we are in a situation like the beginning of the pandemic – no income but still plenty of mortgages and insurance,” he said.

Many longer-term solutions are being considered, including providing water by barge, plane, and train, and adding community storage tanks up to 500,000 gallons (1.9 million liters), with the U.S. National Guard or Army Corps of engineers are being asked to set up a mobile desalination plant and even mist detection. But all of them are expensive, and the city needs state and federal government support, Rhoades said.

A company that had developed a new technology to detect moisture in fog suggested setting up a free test site in Mendocino and selling the water to the community. However, Rhoades said the infrastructure would detract from the city’s scenic views and getting a permit would be a challenge. A desalination plant would face similar licensing and environmental hurdles.

“Transporting treated water from an inland source could be a faster solution, even if it is expensive,” he said.

Robert Pinoli, president of the Mendocino Railway, which operates the historic Skunk Train, said he was ready to help. The Willits train has been traveling through redwood forests and river canyons to Fort Bragg since 1885.

Pinoli said he could quickly find tank cars, attach them to the locomotive, and deliver up to 200,000 gallons (757,000 liters) per trip. He identified a source for tank trucks in 2015 when Fort Bragg was experiencing a water shortage and was considering buying inland water to transport it to the coast. Officials scratched these plans after it rained.

He said that if Willits decides to sell his water and Fort Bragg chooses to buy it, “we will become a logical vehicle for moving water on a fairly large scale.”

Willits officials recently decided against selling their water to the parched city.

Right now, Mendocino residents rely on people like Brian Clark, who sells water from his well outside of town and transports it by truck. Clark said he couldn’t keep up with demand.

“I really hide from the phone because I get a lot more calls than I have water and I hear from people I have never met, never heard from, and who I cannot help,” he said.

Clark, a longtime resident, said Mendocino hadn’t had such water retention issues since the 1970s, when California experienced the worst drought ever.

District officials’ short-term solutions include waiving the permit requirements for storage tanks that can hold up to 5,000 gallons (18,900 liters) and identifying wells with excess water near Mendocino. Officials are also asking the state to help fund the larger private tanks, Rhoades said.

“Now, while their wells are reasonably productive, I want residents to be able to store more water to survive the next four months. And when you have to buy water, you get the best bang for your buck, ”he said.

© Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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The following areas are warned from 5:00 p.m. Sunday to 5:00 p.m. Monday: North Bay Mountains, East Bay Hills, Diablo Range, Santa Cruz Mountains.

Due to the threat of dry thunderstorms, which lasted from late Sunday morning to Monday afternoon, the fire alarm was triggered.

If a fire breaks out in your area, watch out for the weather and make a plan. # CAwx pic.twitter.com/F1uJ1QATKc

– NWS Bay Area (@NWSBayArea) July 17, 2021

The area of ​​the Santa Lucia Range, the mountains of San Benito County, is warned from Sunday 11 a.m. to Monday 5 p.m.

The National Weather Service warns that dry thunderstorms and gust runoff can lead to wildfires that can spread quickly.

It is worth it that the euro is the greatest threat to the mountain thunder on Monday afternoon. Model recommendations do not give consensus on the exact course of these storms, but there are threats that warrant fire alarms in most parts of California. pic.twitter.com/DpBsZu6SUK

– Drew Tuma (rew DrewTumaABC7) July 17, 2021

On Thursday, the National Weather Service warned areas of potential thunderstorms that could bring potential dry thunderstorms to the area.

British Columbia skyscraper faults hit the area from the northwest with a garment of energy as moisture in the middle of the rise travels over the Central Coast and Bay Area, according to the Meteorological Department. This can lead to thunderstorms and dry thunderstorms.

Relationship: Use this interactive map to track wildfires in the San Francisco Bay Area in other parts of California

Dry thunderstorms are unlikely, but forest fires can occur if they occur near dry bushes across the area.

Weather services do not expect conditions to cause similar fires. Lightning complex fire It struck the Bay Area in August 2020.

These fires burned hundreds of thousands of acres, destroyed homes and killed at least six people.

CAL FIRE announced on Sunday that the entire unit in the Bay Area had been staffed up, taking into account the expected weather conditions.

Upcoming meteorological events: In preparation for the upcoming weather events, the CAL FIRE CZU has 16 engines, 4 captains,
1 safety officer, 2 bulldozers, 3 crew members. https://t.co/lq3PMVR3kV

– CAL FIRE CZU (@CALFIRECZU) July 18, 2021

The CALFIRE CZU in the Santa Cruz and San Mateo districts has 16 additional engines, 4 battalion commanders and 3 additional crew members.

Additional crew members are also waiting at CAL FIRE SCU in Santa Clara, Contra Costa and Alameda Counties.

In preparation for this weather event, the Santa Clara unit will be equipped with 16 engines, 4 bulldozers, 4 battalion commanders, 3 security officers, 2 helicopters and 2 hand crews. .. We take care of attacks, you take care of defense. #OneTeamOneFight https://t.co/8Cznjjdccs

– CAL FIRE SCU (@calfireSCU) July 18, 2021

“All holidays are canceled,” said Robert Foxworthy, a CALFIRE spokeswoman.

This allows employees to be assigned to a dedicated response team to respond quickly across the state.

He says her agency is currently fighting only one fire in the state, but otherwise it’s been a busy year with nearly 5,000 fires across the state. I’m going.

“Compared to last year there were about 715 fires and 103,000 acres more than last year,” said Foxworthy.

Bay Area residents can check the latest forecast here.

Video: Watch an incredible video of lightning strikes and thunderstorms across the San Francisco Bay Area

Bay City News Service contributed to this article.

Copyright © 2021 KGO-TV. All rights reserved.

CAL FIRE adds additional crews ahead of the San Francisco Bay Area Red Flag Warning, dry lightning hazard Source link CAL FIRE adds additional crews ahead of the San Francisco Bay Area Red Flag warning, dry lightning hazard

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SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) – With memories of the devastating lightning complex fires of 2020 still fresh, the National Weather Service issued a fire weather warning for the Santa Cruz Mountains and the East Bay and North Bay Hills starting Sunday afternoon.

A weather system will move through the San Francisco Bay Area from Sunday through Monday morning and pose the risk of thunderstorm activity.

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Fire Weather Watch was issued for parts of the #BayArea from Sunday morning to Monday morning. Concerns are dry lightning bolts that trigger new wildfires Details https://t.co/dIZvMf1zj8 #cawx #cafire pic.twitter.com/1W8hFzizu9zu

– NWS Bay Area (@NWSBayArea) July 16, 2021

“Thunderstorms will be a mix of dry and wet, but given the dryness of the fuels, lightning strikes will be problematic,” warned the weather service. “The risk of thunderstorms decreases on Monday afternoon as the moisture moves north.”

Although weather conditions weren’t as severe as expected in the fall of 2020, any lightning strike in the tinder-dry hills could spark fast moving wildfire.

In 2020, the region survived a severe heat wave that helped fuel the severity of the thunderstorms. More than 12,000 lightning strikes were recorded in Northern California over a four-day period. These lightning strikes triggered up to 585 forest fires that burned more than 2 million hectares.

Forest fires burned thousands of homes, claimed dozens of lives and charred forests, woodlands and vineyards, and left an ugly horror visible from space.

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This year, a lack of rainfall for the past nine months has resulted in excessive or extreme drought conditions. There is just no moisture in the hills.

“The recent hot and dry conditions have created very susceptible vegetation to new lightning fires,” warned the weather service. “New outbreaks of fire, combined with strong outflow winds, can cause a fire to rapidly grow in size and intensity before first responders can contain it.”

On KPIX 5 Morning News, Cal Fire Battalion chief Jon Heggie said his agency was on high alert.

“We’re hiring additional staff,” he said. “We’re preparing for the event to make sure we have all of our resources in position and are really watching the weather to make sure we know where these fires have the potential to break out.”

“The concern is the higher elevation strikes, where the fuel is much heavier,” said Paul Lowenthal, Cal Fire’s public information officer. “We’re looking for scrub, wood. This is the stuff that is critically dry at the moment, and our potential is much higher there. “

California was hit by a series of large fires for about three years, often triggered by wind events. The danger of lightning poses various challenges.

“Obviously, the difference between a dry lightning event and a wind event is that the wind … they’re coming from the northeast and pushing those fires south-southwest,” Lowenthal explained. “I’ve been seeing this on site again and again since 2017. The incidents with lightning are somewhat more unpredictable. Of course, we never know exactly where lightning will strike. We know they are usually accompanied by lots of erratic winds when these fronts move. “

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Firefighters urge everyone to remember the lessons of the past few years and think about contingency plans.

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