Communication towers stayed intact through Loma Fire

Some good news out of the Loma Fire: all the communication towers on Loma Prieta stayed intact, even though the fire got close.

The peak serves as a communications hub that holds commercial, public service and radio towers, making it a crucial site for Cal Fire to protect.

“Every emergency agency within the geographic area we are in, which includes millions of people, have infrastructure up here that are critical for their daily operations,” said Nick Wallingford, with Cal Fire.

The towers cover a large area along the Central Coast.

“This, I believe, will go all the way up to Santa Clara Valley, Silicon Valley, also serving down to Monterey, Salinas,” Wallingford said.

But funding to build fire breaks on the mountain has been difficult to get.

“Historically, the NRCS (Natural Resources Conservation Service), which is a federal organization, funded a lot of fuel breaks up here for the protection of the watershed. When funding ran out from the federal side, the Santa Clara County Valley Water District then funded some of the fuel reduction projects,” Wallingford said.

That money has since gone away, But Cal Fire stepped in last winter as part of their drought augmentation. They say good planning is what’s kept these towers safe from fire.

There was “a good maintenance of fuel that surrounded these structures. Also, a lot of these structures’ construction is concrete, steel, which is impervious to fire,” Wallingford said.

Cal Fire says future funding will determine their plans in the area. They are actively looking for sources to support fire safety-projects around the towers.