Bay Area fire departments prepare for higher fire risk this week

Bay Area Fire Department prepare for increased fire risk, urge residents to take precautions

Higher temperatures and wind gusts this week have prompted fire officials in the Bay Area to prepare for increased fire risk and warn residents to take precautions.

CASTRO VALLEY, Calif. - Bay Area fire departments are preparing for increased wildfire danger this week, and urging residents to take precautions as higher temperatures and winds are expected in the coming days.

Crews hope to avoid large fires such as the ones currently burning in Lake County and Southern California.

On Grizzly Peak, large machinery removed trees and brush from near the roadside, thanks to funding from a state Wildfire Prevention grant.

"We're thinning and removing trees, removing fuel load… prevent fire starts," Acting Asst. Chief Patrick McIntrye of East Bay Regional Park District Fire Department said.

Crews say the project is critical as California and local jurisdictions try to prevent fires.

"The fire department grazes about 900 acres throughout the East Bay hills with goats," McIntyre said. " Our cattle grazing program does about 81,000 acres."

"California is a wild place and things can turn on a dime," Alameda County Fire District Division Chief Heather Marques said. "We've got assets across California now, Shasta, Humboldt, Gifford Fire in the Santa Maria area."

One of these fires broke out Sunday night in Castro Valley, off Eden Canyon Road, when a spark from a car fire spread to grass nearby, burning about 20 acres. Firefighters stamped that blaze out almost immediately.

In Southern California, the Gifford Fire burned nearly 70,000 acres in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, which began in the Los Padres National Forest on Friday.

And up north in Lake County, a more than 300-acre brush fire was burning in Clearlake on Sunday, though fire crews stopped forward progress by the evening.

The National Weather Service predicts more hot, dry weather with windy conditions later in the week.

"We’re late in the summer, so the fuel has been dry," said Cal Fire's Jason Clay.

Temperatures will likely be in the 90s for inland parts of the Bay Area, peaking on Wednesday.

Fire officials say what is most important, is for people to make sure they are prepared with defensible space around their homes, and being extra careful not to cause sparks from dragging chains, yard equipment, barbecues, campfires, or cigarettes.

"Always making sure they have their go bags ready, and a comms plan a communications plan with their children and the rest of the family for where they need to meet up," Marques said.

Marques also says it is important for people to sign up for fire alerts. She says apps such as Watch Duty and Genasys are reliable sources of information.

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