Firefighters gear up for fresh fires in S California
[转贴 2007-11-11 01:57:57]
Firefighters gear up for fresh fires in S California
In anticipation of strong winds returning, fire departments across Southern California are bracing for a possible new round of fresh wildfires, authorities said on Friday.
The expected return of strong Santa Ana winds beginning this afternoon had fire officials across Southern California racing to boost defenses and implement some of the lessons learned during last week's destructive brush fires.
"We're not letting anybody go that we already got. We have a considerable force thanks to the rest of the country helping us now," said Kate Kramer, spokeswoman for the Southern California Operations Center, an interagency decision-making hub.
"Nobody's ready to send everybody home and rest easy on it."
Fire officials have warned that even areas that burned during the 2003 fires had built up enough brush, particularly fast-burning grasses, to burn again.
This was one thing officials have learned from last week's fires, said Capt. Matt Streck of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
"Pretty much any area that didn't burn in these fires can burn," said Streck. "We found that even areas that burned in the 2003 fires had enough grass grow back to be a danger again."
The National Weather Service on Thursday issued red flag warnings for much of the region through at least Sunday night. Though the winds won't be as fierce as those that sparked October's blazes, officials said the plummeting humidity levels and record-dry conditions create a high danger for more fires.
Firefighters were paying particular attention to populated canyon and hillside areas that have not burned in recent years.
Fire departments are placing more "strike teams" in vulnerable areas over the weekend to immediately jump on any fires that might start.
Scores of fresh firefighters are being brought in from across the country to relieve crews that have been on the lines in the last two weeks. Federal and state officials also promised to keep more than 30 air tankers and military choppers at the ready -- hoping to avoid the delays that occurred last week in getting air support for firefighters in Orange County and San Diego.
The big worry in Orange County is that new winds could whip up the Santiago fire, which is still burning, so officials are using infrared cameras to identify hot spots and hit them with water before the winds pick up.
The Santa Anas arriving on Friday are expected to top off around 45 mph. By contrast, the October winds were clocked at more than 80 mph in some fire zones. But they are plenty strong enough at a time when Southern California is already experiencing its driest stretch on record.
"We always have Santa Anas," said Bill Patzert, a climatologist for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Passadena, Los Angeles. "But it's not normally this dry. The real bad situation is the extreme dryness."
During the last winter and spring, Southern California experienced 70 Santa Ana days -- more than double the average, Patzert said.
Firefighters said there is little they can do when extremely strong winds -- like those clocked during last week's fires -- blow through. But they are hoping to be as prepared as possible this weekend.
The expected return of strong Santa Ana winds beginning this afternoon had fire officials across Southern California racing to boost defenses and implement some of the lessons learned during last week's destructive brush fires.
"We're not letting anybody go that we already got. We have a considerable force thanks to the rest of the country helping us now," said Kate Kramer, spokeswoman for the Southern California Operations Center, an interagency decision-making hub.
"Nobody's ready to send everybody home and rest easy on it."
Fire officials have warned that even areas that burned during the 2003 fires had built up enough brush, particularly fast-burning grasses, to burn again.
This was one thing officials have learned from last week's fires, said Capt. Matt Streck of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
"Pretty much any area that didn't burn in these fires can burn," said Streck. "We found that even areas that burned in the 2003 fires had enough grass grow back to be a danger again."
The National Weather Service on Thursday issued red flag warnings for much of the region through at least Sunday night. Though the winds won't be as fierce as those that sparked October's blazes, officials said the plummeting humidity levels and record-dry conditions create a high danger for more fires.
Firefighters were paying particular attention to populated canyon and hillside areas that have not burned in recent years.
Fire departments are placing more "strike teams" in vulnerable areas over the weekend to immediately jump on any fires that might start.
Scores of fresh firefighters are being brought in from across the country to relieve crews that have been on the lines in the last two weeks. Federal and state officials also promised to keep more than 30 air tankers and military choppers at the ready -- hoping to avoid the delays that occurred last week in getting air support for firefighters in Orange County and San Diego.
The big worry in Orange County is that new winds could whip up the Santiago fire, which is still burning, so officials are using infrared cameras to identify hot spots and hit them with water before the winds pick up.
The Santa Anas arriving on Friday are expected to top off around 45 mph. By contrast, the October winds were clocked at more than 80 mph in some fire zones. But they are plenty strong enough at a time when Southern California is already experiencing its driest stretch on record.
"We always have Santa Anas," said Bill Patzert, a climatologist for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Passadena, Los Angeles. "But it's not normally this dry. The real bad situation is the extreme dryness."
During the last winter and spring, Southern California experienced 70 Santa Ana days -- more than double the average, Patzert said.
Firefighters said there is little they can do when extremely strong winds -- like those clocked during last week's fires -- blow through. But they are hoping to be as prepared as possible this weekend.
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