If You Think it’s Bad Now, Wait Until October

THE STATION FIRE SHOULD BE A MODEL FOR ALL FUTURE FIRE SCENARIOS. THE AREA ABOVE LA CANDADA WAS PRESCRIBED BURNED IN SMALL INCREMENTS IN THE LATE 1980'S. A MAJOR PRESCRIBED BURN WAS CONDUCTED IN THE LATE 1990'S ABOVE WINERY CANYON.. IN ADDITION, RESIDENTS BELOW THIS AREA WERE ENCOURGED TO REMOVE ALL EXOTIC FLAMMABLE VEGETATION. THE EFFECT OF THIS PREPLANNING WAS EVIDENT DURING THE STATION FIRE.
FIRE CONTAINMENT CAN ONLY BE ACCOMPLISHED WHERE THER EXISTS AN AREA TO ANCHOR FROM. THIESE ANCHOR POINTS WERE OBTAINABLE UNDER THE FIRE SCENARIO OF THE STATION FIRE.
IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT THE STATION FIRE WAS NOT A SANTA ANA WIND DRIVEN FIRE (THANK GOD) BUT A CLASSIC SUMMER FUEL/SLOPE DRIVEN FIRE.
HISTORICALLY, WE WERE ABLE TO CONTAIN THESE LOW WIND SUMMER FIRES TO LESS THAN 10,00O ACRES. HOWEVER, ALL RECENT FUEL DRIVEN FIRES, FROM SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, VENTURA COUNTY AND LOS ANGELES COUNTY REQUIRE A REASSESSMENT OF FIRE FIGHTING RESPONSE AS WELL AS WATERSHED MANAGEMENT. MEGAFIRES HAVE BECOME THE NORM. WE NEED OUR FOREST RESEACH SCIENTISTS TO REASSESS THE IPACTS FROM THESE MEGA FIRES. ARE THESE A PRECURSOR TO CLOBAL WARMING/CLIMATE CHANGE?
IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT ALL DEVLOPMENT AT THE WUI (WILDLAND URBAN INTEFACE) SINCE 1990 HAS SURVIVED. IT IS THE THE PRE-1990 CONSTRUCTION AND FUEL MODIFICATION REQUIREMENTS OR LACK OF THERE OF THAT ARE CREATING THE PROBLEM
FINALLY, RESIDENTS THAT RESIDE WITHIN HIGH HAZARD FIRE SEVERITY ZONES (HHFSVZ) NEED TO UNDERSAND THE DANGERS ASSOCIATED WITH EXOTIC VEGETATION (JUNIPER, CYPRESS, PAL, CONIFERS).