It is now fire season year round here in California, especially since we have been in a major drought. In April, Governor Gavin Newsom declared a drought emergency for California. Just about a month ago the San Francisco Bay Area was placed under a water shortage emergency. Levels at Lake Oroville Dam, a major reservoir, have fallen so low that it may have to shut down. I say this after about a week ago, the Willow Fire started in Big Sur and is burning approximately 2800 acres with 0% containment. Last night my husband and I were awakened by the faint smell of smoke coming through our windows. We called the fire department but no nearby fire source was found. Yet it is scary and goes to show we are all on edge. It is possible we were smelling smoke be carried to us by the Willow Fire. Yet we felt better safe than sorry.
I am Marcia Sivek and this is BeProvided Conservation Radio.
As we enter summer with no real rain from the winter and no forecast of any rain in the future, California is drying up. It is time to be prepared for the worst, especially for those of us living in areas where there is a lot fuel for a fire. So in today’s episode, I speak with Grey Hayes as some of you may remember, he helped me start this podcast a few years back and did cohost several episodes with me.
I sought out Grey not only for vast knowledge of ecology, grasslands and nature in general, but also because he, for the most part, alone fought the fire on his property to save his home. I want others to hear his experience and heed his advice on preparing for the next fire. It is not if the next big fire will happen, it is when.
I met Grey at Natural Bridges in Santa Cruz on beautiful spring day. You may hear ambients sounds of nature and man! Enjoy this episode and note you can learn more about Grey and his Community for Nature at www.greyhayes.net.
Background music is Dark Cloud by Ian Kelosky licensed from soundstripe.com. the news clip from Gov. Newsom was from C-span public domain files.
Stay safe and stay Healthy