Busy day for San Joaquin Valley firefighters

Dry, windy, hot days ahead seen as trouble

By EMILIE RAGUSO
eraguso@modbee.com

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Grass fires kept local firefighters busy Monday, and this week's hot, breezy forecast promises no relief in the days ahead.

Morning and afternoon fires in Modesto, Ceres, Turlock and Waterford caused no serious damage, officials said, but the flare-ups are a reminder that fire season is here.

Today marks the start of fire season in areas covering most of Calaveras County and parts of Tuolumne, San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties.

Fire safety tips
Remove flammable vegetation from within 30 feet of structures. A common misconception is that firefighters want "a bare dirt doughnut" around every home, said Daniel Berlant, a California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokesman. "But what we're looking for is for homeowners to clear out the dead stuff. We're not talking about green vegetation, because that has moisture in it."
Within an additional 70 feet, create a reduced fuel zone by planting native species and spacing trees and shrubs 10 feet apart to decrease the odds of a fire spreading or intensifying.
Clear all needles and leaves from roofs, eaves and rain gutters. Dead vegetation is fire fuel. Even if a wildfire is miles away, embers can land on roofs and set leaves and needles on fire.
Trim branches six feet from the ground. This practice, known as "parking" a tree, prevents ground fires from igniting leaves or needles on higher tree limbs.
Use trimming, mowing and power equipment before 10 a.m. and after 6 p.m., not in the heat of the day. It is OK to mow healthy green lawns in the heat of the day, but when people use power equipment in fields or on dead vegetation, a single spark can start a wildfire.

Modesto and the Northern San Joaquin Valley may face the season's first significant heat wave, which could bring record temperatures, said Karl Swanberg, a forecaster with the National Weather Service.

Breezy conditions likely will increase today and Wednesday, with northwest winds blowing at 10 to 20 mph, he said. Thursday and Friday likely will be the hottest days, with triple-digit temperatures possible, but the heat wave could continue into Saturday. Some cooling is expected Sunday and Monday, Swanberg said. Wednesday and Thursday likely will see overnight lows around 60.

The Turlock Rural Fire Department had calls for 10 vegetation fires from 12:45 to 6:07 p.m., said Assistant Fire Chief Steve Williams.

The Modesto Fire Department had "small grass fires here and there," Battalion Chief Mark Johansen said. Firefighters returned at 3 p.m. to a hay fire that started Sunday near Milnes and Claus roads.

A backyard grass fire on El Farrari Court in Ceres threatened a house after a fence nearby caught fire, said Ceres Fire Capt. Joshua Bennett.

Turlock city firefighters saw a rash of grass fires around Highway 99 on Monday afternoon, said Capt. Manuel Drumonde from the Turlock Fire Department. Fires started in the me-dian and on both sides of the freeway halfway between West Main Street and Lander Avenue. Several lanes were closed because of smoke.

Capt. Dave Wason of the Stanislaus Consolidated Fire Protection District said the Waterford-based agency had a quarter-acre grass fire that threatened three houses near Skyline Boulevard in Waterford. The fire, which started about 2:15 p.m., was wind-driven with an unknown cause.

Wason said he thinks conditions might get worse.

"We do the weather for the county at this station," he said. "Humidity's down to 20 percent. Winds are gusting from 15 to 20 miles per hour in Waterford. We're seeing July and August conditions in May. I see it being a crazy summer."

Bee staff writer Emilie Raguso can be reached at eraguso@modbee.com or 578-2235.