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Archive for the 'Wildfire' Category

Rains might end 4-year wildfire danger

January 26th, 2010, 3:36 pm by

Recent rains have significantly reduced wildfire danger in Orange County’s back country, raising the prospect that the county’s long-running fire-closure season could be lifted for the first time in four years. firedangergoc1

Yet even after a chain of powerful storms drenched the county, fire danger remains moderate, and high in places that did not receive as much rain, said George Ewan, the wildland fire defense planner for the Orange County Fire Authority.

“Fuel moistures are increasing,” Ewan said. “That means there’s enough moisture in the ground that the root systems are picking it up. That will help us greatly. The vegetation is beginning to turn green as you can see by the hillsides.”

On the other hand, he said, much of the county’s dead vegetation — “fuel” to firefighters — remains dry.

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Posted in: Wildfire • Wildlife and the natural world • • | 4 Comments »

Controlled fires to begin in Cleveland Forest

December 9th, 2009, 2:39 pm by

Fires meant to cut down on excess fuel and reduce the risk of wildfire will be set under controlled conditions by the U.S. Forest Service as soon as today, with smoke plumes possibly visible in Orange County in coming days. controlledburngoc

The controlled fires, called “prescribed burns,” were to begin Wednesday in the Trabuco District of the Cleveland National Forest, east of Orange County, said district ranger Keith Fletcher.

While fires planned for Wednesday would be on ridges above Corona, and unlikely to be seen from Orange County, more fires could be set as early as next week close to the Main Divide Road where it meets Ortega Highway, Fletcher said.

“There will be places on the North Main where it will definitely be visible from Orange County — actual flames,” Fletcher said.

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Red flag warning issued for Santa Ana Mountains

November 24th, 2009, 11:51 am by

Warm temperatures and winds prompted a red-flag warning for the Santa Ana Mountains by the National Weather Service Tuesday, signaling higher danger of wildfire. windrfgoc

The warning applies only to the mountains, not the lowland areas, said forecaster Massoud Fazal.

“The high is going to be above normal for the next few days,” he said.

The warning expires at 10 a.m. Thanksgiving Day.

Mountain temperatures could be as high as 77 today, 80 Wednesday, and 82 Thursday, dropping to cooler temperatures Friday. Winds in Fremont Canyon in the Santa Ana Mountains were last reported at 48 mph.

Read Orange County Register story about firefighters on alert.

(O.C. Register photo of wind-whipped flag by Bruce Chambers.)

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Posted in: Wildfire • Wildlife and the natural world • • • | 2 Comments »

Thanksgiving forecast: warm and dry

November 23rd, 2009, 8:16 am by

Temperatures are expected to rise to the low 80s in time for Thanksgiving, and dry weather will bring a slight increase in wildfire danger, the National Weather Service says. NOAA CLOUDS

Inland Orange County could see temperatures in the mid 70s today, climing to the high 70s Tuesday and perhaps as high as 81 Wednesday and Thursday as light winds push toward the ocean.

That, plus dry weather, will mean a moderate increase in wildfire risk, said National Weather Service meteorologist Tina Stall, though mainly in San Diego County.

“It’s going to be windy in the usual wind-prone areas — canyons, passes, foothills,” she said. “Those areas are going to be more at risk than the valleys and coasts.”

By Friday, temperatures should drop back into the upper 60s and low 70s.

(Satellite photo of U.S. cloud cover Monday morning from the Associated Press.)

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After ’08 fire, Chino Hills again ready to burn

November 13th, 2009, 8:22 am by

Almost every inch of Chino Hills State Park was torched in last November’s Freeway Complex Fire, but nature’s resilience is again on display: the park is covered with riotous growth. chinoregrowgoc

That isn’t all good news. Much of the growth is in the form of non-native weeds, which hog nutrients and crowd out the native plants the park is meant to preserve.

And only a year after some 90 percent of the park was burned, it is once again primed for ignition.

“Our biggest concern is repeated fire,” said Ken Kietzer, a district environmental scientist for State Parks who is monitoring the park’s recovery. “There is enough fuel that, should a spark fly in that park, it could burn again.”

The possibility that the park will be hit by fire again worries ecologists. Although Southern California’s drought-tolerant native plants are adapted to periodic wildfire, they can disappear if fires come too frequently.

“That is really a terrifying thought, because as these other native species are just on the verge of recovery, if they get hit again by fire, they’re not coming back,” Kietzer said.

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Posted in: Wildfire • Wildlife and the natural world • • | 2 Comments »

Watching for wildfire: Irvine Ranch calls for volunteers

September 8th, 2009, 11:41 am by

One man got a firm talking-to after flicking cigarette butts from his car window while parked on the tinder-dry edge of a state park. The reason he was there? To watch a wildfire burning a few miles away.

fwatchgoc It’s one of the stories told by Dave Raetz, deputy director of the Irvine Ranch Conservancy, who is once again organizing Fire Watch volunteers in anticipation of  the Santa Ana winds that blow-torch through the county every fall.

“It’s been a real kind of community thing,” Raetz said. “The community wants to do something to prevent catastrophic fires.”

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