Cal Fire on alert for Memorial Day Weekend

The Memorial Day Weekend is the unofficial kickoff to summer, but Cal Fire has been planning for it since the start of the year. Despite recent rains, we are still facing harsh fire conditions this summer. As we head into Memorial Day, Cal Fire has a few reminders for you.

“We started really ramping up our staffing in March and we just put our last resources on line to put us at peak staffing this last week,” said Cal Fire Division Chief Jim Crawford.

Which is necessary right now. Cal Fire says their crews are getting calls for fires every day. Fortunately, these fires haven’t grown out of control. The weather has cooperated.

“They aren’t becoming large fires yet because of the cloudiness,” Chief Crawford explained, “The cooler temperatures lead to higher humidity so they don’t grow as much as they would on a warm dry day.”

But he says the biggest source of prevention is you. If you’re camping this weekend, do your research because not all campgrounds will allow campfires during the holiday weekend. Or if you don’t have any plans this Memorial Day, Cal Fire says use that extra day to create more defensible space around your home. Limiting the amount of dry brush around your home now means less fuel for a potential wildfire later this summer.

“We are really getting towards the end of that growing cycle with grasses so cutting it now means you won’t have to cut a lot more later,” Chief Crawford said.