Extreme brush fire conditions again

As the sun beats down and the winds gust, it’s early May right? Let’s start with some information that takes a little of the edge off our extreme conditions. So far, as San Diego experiences the earliest start to the brush fire season in at least four decades, San Diegans have been able to keep their little fires from becoming big fires.

“Because of the conditions, we’re throwing a lot of equipment at them real early, and because of the aggressive air and ground attack we’ve been able to keep the fires relatively small,” said Capt. Kendal Bortisser of Cal Fire.

And unlike late April, when the county went through similar conditions, there are no major fires burning elsewhere – meaning resources aren’t stretched.

“Not right now. So far, everything is relatively quiet in southern California.”

Okay, now to the negatives: San Diego’s aerial support – including the San Diego Fire Department’s two helicopters – has never been stronger and it’s a key to keeping the little fires little. Tuesday, the winds are expected to be their strongest as the temperatures continue to climb.

“Aerial support is a huge factor during these fires and, unfortunately, they have the potential of being grounded during high winds. And safety of the public and the crews is important, and they can get grounded because of the wind conditions.”

Again, red flag conditions have developed early this year, and there is no ‘May Gray’ at Cal Fire headquarters in Rancho San Diego – if the county’s attention wasn’t caught last month, maybe it is now. Don’t be scrambling for kids, pets and valuables when the reverse 911 call comes in or there’s a knock at the door; have everything at the ready now.

Know the “six P’s”:

– People and Pets

– Papers, important documents, etc.

– Prescriptions, something a lot of people forget about!

– Pictures, the family photos that can’t be replaced

– Personal hard drives

– And Plastic, as in credit cards.

Help firefighters not have to worry about the public.

“All 18 of our stations are covered – our equipment, our camps, our air copters, air tankers, in addition to our bulldozers – are staffed 24-7.”