Cal Fire gearing up for peak fire season on heels of hot, dry spell around the county

On what was yet another dry and hot day in San Diego, Cal Fire Captain Mike Cornette took NBC 7 to an unincorporated area of Escondido. The Welkview Truck Trail, located off Deer Springs Road, is typically gated off to the public.

Cornette said this area is where crews have been making a fuel break over the last several months. It’s one of several fire prevention efforts underway across San Diego County ahead of peak fire season.

“I would say the entire county is in fire danger,” said Cornette. “We will move in to peak staffing here within a few weeks to a month or so,” Cornette added.

Cal Fire is in the process of bringing on about 1,000 firefighters that will be spread out across their 42 fire stations, three fire centers, and two air bases across the county. Cornette explains that this will be in addition to some new aircraft.

“There’s a lot of exciting things that’re going to happen in San Diego this fire season with the addition of our C-130 air tanker and the S-70 helicopter that’re going to be at Ramona. We’re expecting those here within the next few months,” said Cornette.

The new addition to firefighting efforts is timely. Cal Fire San Diego recently sent five fire engines with at least 15 firefighters in tow to the Springs Fire burning up in Riverside. Crews were sent up on Friday when the fire started, and were able to return that same night.

On the heels of record hot temperatures in March, Escondido has been particularly dry. The area is currently sitting about five inches below average rainfall totals for this time of year. As Cornette explains, that spells trouble for the vegetation.

“When it’s dry we typically see a lot of smaller fires this time of year where the grass starts to change from green to more brown,” said Cornette.

San Diego’s peak fire season is typically during the late summer months heading into the fall. Within the next few months, Cal Fire will be focused on prevention efforts ahead of that peak. Cornette said that crews will be carrying out prescribed burns across parts of the county.

“We do constantly monitor the weather, we’re constantly monitoring the fuel moistures,” said Cornette.

If you are worried about dry brush in a particular area of your neighborhood, Cornette recommends contacting your local fire department to see if they can help.