Firefighters don’t want a repeat of the 2008 Trabing Fire that burned 600 acres and two dozen homes in South County. Photo by Chip Scheuer.
“Every year they say it’s going to be a bad fire season, but this year it’s been incredibly dry,” says Jason Hajduk, a Santa Cruz Fire Department captain.
Firefighters in Santa Cruz and across the state are in the middle of a season with a potential perfect storm for big fires—scorching heat and dry weather. This past winter, Santa Cruz received 57 percent of its average seasonal rainfall.
“There’s no guarantee at this point that anything will happen, but we’ve had a couple fires this year,” Hajduk says. “They’re burning more quickly than they normally do.”
During an average summer season, humidity picks up every day, as each afternoon drags on and gets hotter. This year, though, Hajduk has seen temperatures in Santa Cruz stay high and humidity stay low throughout the day.
As of last week, California had logged 3,700 fires since the start of the year, for a total of 63,000 acres burned, according to Cal Fire. That’s a 50 percent increase in fire activity over an average year, and a 43 percent increase over last year. Firefighters from around the state spent the weekend fighting fires near Idyllwild in Southern California that burned over 27,000 acres, or 42.2 square miles, before some lucky rain sprinkled the San Jacinto Mountains.
In a typical year the state will have bad fire season in either Northern or Southern California. But this year, both regions have seen “explosive conditions,” says Cal Fire spokesperson Dennis Mathisen.
Thus far, the fire season in Santa Cruz County has been mostly tame—save for a few small fires, including a blaze near the Fishhook on Highway 1 that claimed three acres. Police arrested the two suspected arsonists involved.
But firefighters from Ben Lomond and Scotts Valley have concerns about what will happen over the rest of the summer, the hottest part of the year.
“Usually August and September are our hottest months,” says Stacie Brownlee, chief of the Ben Lomond volunteer fire department on Highway 9. “We’re not getting the fog we’re used to.
“I’m not that worried about it,” Brownlee adds, “but it is scary.”
The reason Brownless and other firefighters aren’t more worried is that Cal Fire has done an impressive job statewide this season of getting to fires right away. Jim Delucchi, Scotts Valley Fire Department battalion chief, says his department is committed to performing at the same level.
“Our mantra this year is get on it early and get out on the road,” Delucchi says. “And get those fires put out on a smaller stage.”
California has a mutual aid system that pools departments’ resources, and firefighters will get deployments to other parts of the state. During years when the Santa Cruz Mountains do catch fire, reinforcements come in from Northern, Central and sometimes even Southern California.
“You take a rock and drop it in a pool, and that’s the ripple effect that happens throughout out the state,” says Pablo Barreto, chief of fire prevention for Watsonville Fire Department. “It’s an amazing system.”
Barreto says his department has put an emphasis on reminding locals to keep their yards trimmed. Brownlee adds that making sure people comply can be one of the trickier aspects of the job.
Cal Fire spokesperson Mathisen reminds people to be careful not to start any fires by letting chains drag on their cars, throwing cigarettes or doing anything else that would make Smokey the Bear cry—especially given the unusually dry season.
“All you need is a spark to ignite [something] and then it takes off,” Mathisen says.
Captain Hajduk told members of a public safety task force meeting that at least 15 percent of fires are caused by transients and illegal campsites, and that large fires take a huge toll on the department.
“Last year we had a fire in Pogonip. It started at 9 o’clock in the evening, and we were there until 10 o’clock the next night,” Hajduk said. “It was a 24-hour event that involved multiple agencies, multiple calls. And while those calls are occurring, those units aren’t available to do anything else. They can’t respond to any other calls. They can’t do any training. They can’t do outreach. They can’t do prevention.”
