June 24, 2005
California Rainy Season Breeds Fires
Wildfire Dangers Grow as Hills Dry
By Hector Becerra and Jia-Rui Chong, Times Staff Writers
"The near-record rains that drenched Southern California this winter have created conditions for a potentially dangerous fire season as dense vegetation nurtured by the storms dries out.
The first major wildfire of the season, a blaze north of Palm Springs that destroyed six homes and a barn, was fueled by much-taller-than-normal hillside chaparral and grasses.
Firefighters fear a hot summer will dry the brush and leave ample fuel for major wildfires when the Santa Ana winds kick up in late summer and early fall.
"We're seeing brush that is like 6 feet tall in some places, where it usually only grows 2 to 3 feet tall," said Matt Shameson, a weather forecaster for the U.S. Forest Service in Riverside. "Right now our live fuel moisture is going down, and it should be at critical levels pretty shortly, maybe the first or second week of July."
Some of Southern California's most destructive wildfire seasons have come after heavy rains.
The 1992-93 rain season was the ninth wettest on record, with more than 27 inches falling in downtown Los Angeles...."
Complete story
Tag:
firefighting
By Hector Becerra and Jia-Rui Chong, Times Staff Writers
"The near-record rains that drenched Southern California this winter have created conditions for a potentially dangerous fire season as dense vegetation nurtured by the storms dries out.
The first major wildfire of the season, a blaze north of Palm Springs that destroyed six homes and a barn, was fueled by much-taller-than-normal hillside chaparral and grasses.
Firefighters fear a hot summer will dry the brush and leave ample fuel for major wildfires when the Santa Ana winds kick up in late summer and early fall.
"We're seeing brush that is like 6 feet tall in some places, where it usually only grows 2 to 3 feet tall," said Matt Shameson, a weather forecaster for the U.S. Forest Service in Riverside. "Right now our live fuel moisture is going down, and it should be at critical levels pretty shortly, maybe the first or second week of July."
Some of Southern California's most destructive wildfire seasons have come after heavy rains.
The 1992-93 rain season was the ninth wettest on record, with more than 27 inches falling in downtown Los Angeles...."
Complete story
Tag:
firefighting
