prevent wildfires. Today Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. declared May 7-13 “Wildfire Awareness Week” to urge homeowners to prepare now for the dry, flammable season ahead. Already this year CAL FIRE has responded to more than 400 wildfires that have burned over 7,000 acres. This year’s thick crop of grass and brush contrasts with the meager growth of the drought years of 2012 through 2015. CAL FIRE urges residents to remove excess vegetation around homes and maintain 100 feet of defensible space to increase the odds that the structure will survive a wildfire.
Damage to the state’s forests from the extended drought also may exacerbate wildfire conditions this season. An estimated 102 million trees have died across the state as a result of drought and the effects of bark beetle infestation. These dead and dying trees make forests more susceptible to destructive wildfires and pose public safety risks from falling trees. “No amount of rain will bring back 102 million dead trees and it will take several years of continued precipitation to undo the effects of our severe five-year drought,” said Chief Ken Pimlott, CAL FIRE director, and California’s state forester. “We continue to see the effects of our changing climate on the landscape. Fire seasons are getting longer and hotter, and there has been a significant increase in the occurrence of large and damaging wildfires. We need all Californians to prepare for wildfires and this year, we have a new tool to help.”
Last month, CAL FIRE launched a new “Ready for Wildfire” app. This tool puts a library of step-by-step, ready-for-wildfire checklists in the palm of a user’s hand. The checklists help homeowners maintain defensible space, harden homes with ignition-resistant building materials, create a family evacuation plan and emergency supply kit, and plan for evacuation. The app also provides guidance on maintaining healthy trees and shrubs. The app features customizable alerts that will send a text or push notification to electronic devices when CAL FIRE responds to a wildfire of 10 acres or more in the vicinity.
To download the ready-for-wildfire app and to learn how to create defensible space around a home, visit www.ReadyForWildfire.org.
Source: CAL FIRE
Governor Brown Issues Proclamation Declaring Wildfire Awareness Week
SACRAMENTO – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. yesterday issued a proclamation declaring May 7-13, 2017 as “Wildfire Awareness Week” in the State of California.
For more information on steps to protect lives, homes and families in the event of a wildfire, visit www.ReadyForWildfire.org.
The text of the proclamation is below:
PROCLAMATION
Recently, California has experienced a drastic increase in the occurrence of large, damaging wildfires. Half of the state’s largest fires in recorded history have occurred in just the last 10 years. The citizens of California must do their part to help protect lives, property, and our state’s precious natural resources.
Despite recent rains, millions of dead and dying trees continue to increase the risk of destructive wildfires across the state. In 2015, I declared a state of emergency to address the state’s unprecedented tree die-off epidemic. The Tree Mortality Task Force – comprised of over 80 state and federal agencies, local and tribal governments and utilities – has to date removed over 423,000 dead trees in high-risk areas.
Wildfires are a natural, periodic occurrence in California. Many native species depend on cyclical fires for survival. Unfortunately, this natural process often conflicts with human land use, and careless or malicious human activity causes many fires that would not have occurred naturally. In order to continue to enjoy the economic and recreational benefits of our wilderness lands, we must strive to achieve a balance between California’s fire ecology and the need to protect human life and property.
Firefighting alone cannot protect us, and every citizen, especially those living in fire-prone areas, has an important role in preventing loss of life and property from wildfire events. This week, we should all do our part to raise public awareness of the fire season that is already upon us, and take steps to protect lives, homes and families in the event of a wildfire.
In conjunction with Wildfire Awareness Week, CAL FIRE has launched a campaign to educate homeowners on the steps they should take to prepare themselves for wildfire. This potentially lifesaving information can be found at www.ReadyForWildfire.org.
NOW THEREFORE I, EDMUND G. BROWN JR., Governor of the State of California, do hereby proclaim May 7-13, 2017 as “Wildfire Awareness Week.”
IN WITNESS WHEREOF I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of California to be affixed this 5th day of May 2017.
___________________________________
EDMUND G. BROWN JR.
Governor of California
ATTEST:
__________________________________
ALEX PADILLA
Secretary of State
Source: Office of the Governor
