Tag Archive for: Wildfires

California and the West Are in for Another Tough Fire Year, Federal Officials Forecast

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Anna M. Phillips

After a 2020 fire season that shattered records and killed 33 people in California, federal wildfire experts predict another tough one for the state due to widespread and worsening drought conditions.

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack told reporters Thursday that they had been briefed by government wildfire experts at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, to expect another extremely active fire season complicated, for the second year, by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. With nearly half of the United States gripped by a severe drought, officials said that Americans living throughout much of the West should plan for a year of “above average wildfire potential.”

Full Story

Wildfires are Contaminating Drinking Water Systems, and it’s More Widespread than People Realize

/in , , /by /The Conversationby Andrew Whelton

More than 58,000 fires scorched the United States last year, and 2021 is on track to be even drier. What many people don’t realize is that these wildfires can do lasting damage beyond the reach of the flames – they can contaminate entire drinking water systems with carcinogens that last for months after the blaze. That water flows to homes, contaminating the plumbing, too.

Full Story

Opinion: There is No Drought

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Times by The Times Editorial Board

Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a drought emergency last month in Sonoma and Mendocino counties because of severe drop-offs in the winter rains that once had been counted on to fill reservoirs in the Russian River watershed, north of the San Francisco Bay Area. Like most other California reservoirs, those human-made lakes were built in the 20th century, an unusually wet period when compared with more than a thousand years of climate records reconstructed from studies of ancient tree rings and geological evidence.

Full Story

Deepening Drought Holds ‘Ominous’ Signs For Wildfire Threat in the West

/in , , /by /NPRby Eric Westervelt

After one of the most destructive and extreme wildfire seasons in modern history last year, a widening drought across California and much of the West has many residents bracing for the possibility this season could be worse.

Anemic winter rain and snowfall has left reservoirs and river flows down significantly, even as the state experiences its driest water year in more than four decades. Today, wildfire fuels in some parts of California are at or near record levels of dryness.

Full Story

Opinion: California Drought Declaration is a Difficult Dance

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby The San Diego Union-Tribune Editorial Board

Gov. Gavin Newsom made headlines last week when he declared a drought emergency for our severely dry state — but only in two of California’s 58 counties, Mendocino and Sonoma. Some farmers in the Central Valley and others with water interests had hoped for a statewide edict.

Full Story

Five Firefighting Plants Worth Adding to Your Landscaping

/in , , /by /Water News Network Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

As spring temperatures rise, San Diego County residents know wildfire season is not far behind. Although wildfire is a serious threat during warm, dry summer and fall months, wildfire can strike year-round especially in wildland interface areas. Regional landscaping must follow fire safe guidelines in design, plant selection and consistent maintenance

Full Story

Governor Declares Drought Emergency in Northwest Counties

/in , /by /CalMattersby Rachel Becker

California Gov. Gavin Newsom today declared a drought emergency for parched water systems along the Russian River watershed that serve hundreds of thousands of Californians in two counties. The emergency declaration will allow state agencies to consider relaxing some requirements for reservoir releases, allowing more water to be stored in reservoirs serving Mendocino and Sonoma counties.

Most of the state is suffering severe drought conditions due to low rainfall and snowpack, but state water officials said that the other regions aren’t hit hard enough yet to declare a statewide emergency.

Full Story
Inspired by the San Diego County Water Authority's free landscape workshops, Vallecitos Water District employee Eileen Koonce transformed her own landscaping. Photo: Vallecitos Water District example watersmart landscaping

Five Firefighting Plants Worth Adding to Your Landscaping

/in , /by

As spring temperatures rise, San Diego County residents know wildfire season is not far behind. Although wildfire is a serious threat during warm, dry summer and fall months, wildfire can strike year-round especially in wildland interface areas. Regional landscaping must follow fire safe guidelines in design, plant selection and consistent maintenance.

Protecting your home with firefighting plants

Diagram from CAL FIRE illustrating the three zones for defensible space. Illustration: CAL FIRE

Plan your landscaping using three different zones

Zone 1: Landscapes should resist ignition and provide 35 feet of actively maintained defensible space around structures and access areas through smart design elements and plant selection. This maximizes fire prevention and allows access by fire crews to protect your property from fire if necessary.

Zone 2: Careful thinning of native vegetation for at least 65 additional feet, for a total of 100 feet of defensible space will reduce the chance of airborne embers from catching and spreading fire.

Zone 3: Some plants begin growth and start the germination process after a wildfire. Many of San Diego County’s native plant communities including chaparral can survive and recover from infrequent wildfires.

But the ability to survive is disrupted for even the most well-adapted plants when fires reoccur too frequently. Non-native, invasive plant species encourage more frequent, longer duration fires burning at a hotter intensity. It is critical to remove invasive plants in fire-prone areas.

Choose firefighting plants that resist ignition

Firesafe plants like these succulents are a smart choice for your watersmart landscape plan. Photo: City of Escondido Firefighting plants

Firesafe plants like these succulents are a smart choice for your watersmart landscape plan. Photo: City of Escondido

Some native plants can prevent airborne plant embers due to high salt or water content and low volatile oil content in their leaves. Succulents such as agaves, aloes and crassulas store extra water in their fleshy leaves guarding against drought, and they will help guard your property from wildfire.

Five exceptional firefighting plant choices include:

  • Daylily hybrids
  • Coral Aloe
  • Bush Morning Glory
  • California Sycamore trees
  • Indian Mallow

Rob wildfires of the fuel they need  

Messy, oily trees and shrubs like eucalyptus trees and junipers may flourish in Southern California, but they aren’t natives, and they provide ready fuel for wildfires. They ignite quickly, burning hot and long, releasing embers into the air which causes flames to spread.

Preventative maintenance includes removing dry grass, brush, weeds, litter, waste, and dead and dying vegetation. Trees should be regularly pruned. Shrubs should be thinned, with dead branches and leaves removed. Leave root structures intact to avoid erosion.

Dead leaves and branches are especially flammable on evergreen shrubs and vines like bougainvillea. Avoid planting these close to homes or other structures.

This article is part of a year-long series inspired by the 71-page Sustainable Landscapes Program guidebook. The Water Authority and its partners also offer other great resources for landscaping upgrades, including free WaterSmart classes at WaterSmartSD.org.

How I Got Beyond the Concrete and Learned to Love my Watershed

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Sammy Roth

A year ago, when stay-at-home orders were a newly disorienting fact of life, I started taking long walks through my neighborhood on L.A.’s Westside. Wandering south from Palms into Culver City, I realized I live near a huge concrete channel — a creek, trapped in place — with a bike path along the water, and a view of oil pumpjacks rising and falling atop the Baldwin Hills. There were beautiful murals, too, showing a healthy, thriving waterway. They were hashtagged #KnowYourWatershed. And the more I admired them, the more I realized that I did not, in fact, know my watershed, despite growing up not far from here.

Full Story

California is on the Brink of Drought – Again. Is it Ready?

/in , , /by /The Guardian by Maanvi Singh

California is at the edge of another protracted drought, just a few years after one of the worst dry spells in state history left poor and rural communities without well water, triggered major water restrictions in cities, forced farmers to idle their fields, killed millions of trees, and fueled devastating megafires.

Full Story