Rain, snow don’t mean an end to fire danger – yet
By Sam Stanton and Nashelly Chavez, Sacramento Bee
Rain and snowfall that swept over Northern California on Saturday morning hold the promise of relief from the deadly fire season that ravaged the state this year, but fire officials say it is far too early to believe the danger of more wildfires has passed.
“It just continues on,” CalFire spokesman Scott McLean said of the possibility of more fires in the coming months, despite the start of the fall rains. “Let’s see what the rains bring. Definitely, it will slow things down, but it will not stop.”
So far this year, CalFire says it has battled 6,405 blazes that consumed more than 556,090 acres, more than double the acreage that burned through the same time last year. Overall, 1.1 million acres – more than 1,718 square miles – burned between CalFire areas and U.S. Forest Service territory in the state. The carnage, as usual, was worst in October, when devastation hit Santa Rosa, Loma Rica and Redwood Valley and other communities and killed at least 43 people.
