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It’s Hot, It’s Dry And It’s Time To Start Thinking About Fire. Your Guide To Getting Ready
Dry grasses surround a sign in Kagel Canyon that encourages home owners to clear vegetation around their properties.
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David McNew
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Getty Images
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Our first notable summer heat wave is coming up this Thursday, peaking Saturday and sticking around until Tuesday.
Temperatures are expected to reach the 90s and 100s in our valley and desert areas, while downtown L.A. should be somewhere in the 80s.
Given the past few months, temperatures have been below normal and none of us are used to this kind of heat, expect it to feel more extreme than usual.
It’s just about time for fire
All this heat is a big indicator, not just of summer, but that our landscapes are about ready to burn. You can see our hills have gotten steadily browner between April and June.
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Grasses that grew tall thanks to all the rain have just about dried out, and this scorcher (along with others coming up) will desiccate our large plants even further, setting the stage for large fires when strong Santa Ana winds come along.
It’s enough to give you a little agita going into a holiday weekend, where explosives are set off.
“On average, we get over 40 fires due to fireworks every year,” said L.A. County Fire Captain Sheila Kelliher Berkoh. “Last year we had hundreds of thousands of dollars of damage due to illegal fireworks.”
I wouldn’t necessarily expect large fires at this point in the season because some fuel moisture is still hanging on, but smaller grass fires can certainly be destructive, especially for properties that’ve failed to prep for fire.
All of which means it’s time to stop procrastinating and get ready.
Many of which I talk about in my wildfire podcast The Big Burn.
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Jacob and retired LA County Fire Captain Derek Bart answer your burning questions.
Proper preparation can make a huge difference in the outcome for your property.
If you’re a homeowner in an area that could burn, you need to do maintenance to help keep your home from catching on fire and to give it a fighting chance if it does. Remember, embers can fly a mile or more ahead of a fire and all it takes is one to send your structure ablaze.
Tips and resources
Fire Prep Chores
- Clear brush, potentially as far as a few hundred feet away from your home.
- Remove firewood, lawn furniture and anything else that can carry fire, from right up against your house.
- Clean out your gutters and clear your roof because old, dry organic matter can easily catch on fire.
Cal Fire has a whole defensible space checklist you should check out.
Get Ready To Run
Even if you’re not responsible for landscaping around a structure, you can prep for the fire season that’s coming:
- Get a go bag together in case you have to evacuate and include items like a change of clothes, masks, water, extra food, important documents, money and medications if necessary.
- Work out an evacuation plan with your family and friends.
- Purchase air purifiers to help mitigate the negative impacts of smoke, which include an increased risk of stroke.
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You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
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