April 29--Cal Fire this week added firefighters to the state payroll in preparation for an early fire season and Tuesday they were already putting out flames with a small blaze in the hills above Cazadero and flames burning several acres and a building near Kelseyville.
Two of the three engines that went to the Cazadero fire on Bohan-Dillon Road and three of the four engines that went to Cole Creek Road in Lake County all were staffed as of Monday, said Cal Fire Capt. Amy Head.
"This is definitely a sign of what the season could bring us," Head said of the April fire activity. "We're just trying to be as prepared as we can."
With small grass fires this year cropping up statewide at a rate of more than twice the average, Cal Fire has been hiring seasonal firefighters ahead of schedule since they were laid off in December.
Adding to the pressure to speed up preparations, Tuesday's heat spiked into the low 90s in many areas and was expected to stay hot through Friday.
As of Monday, 80 additional firefighters were on duty at state forestry stations in six northern California counties, including Sonoma, Lake and Napa. Dozens more firefighters have already been brought back since late winter due to the drought.
In another early sign of the higher fire danger, state officials have already started staffing a number of firefighting helicopters.
Staffing for two air tankers and an air attack spotter plane based at the Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport could come May 12. That's 4 to 6 weeks early, Head said.
Gov. Jerry Brown's drought declaration resulted in added funding for the seasonal hires and other ramped-up efforts.
Recent rains and the green hues on area hillsides have masked a landscape parched by three years of drought, Head said.
This week's heat will most likely fade some of the emerald color.
National Weather Service Meteorologist Diana Henderson Tuesday said the end of the week will feel vastly different than mid week.
"It's a short-lived bump in the temperature gauge," Henderson said.
Saturday temperatures in the North Bay are forecast to be in the low 70s or high 60s. By Monday, Santa Rosa could be 67 degrees, with cloudy skies and a remote possibility of rain.
Tuesday afternoon, the Cazadero fire was being held to about an acre. It started as a control burn that got away from its minder, officials said.
The Kelseyville fire initially covered about 5 to 7 acres and damaged a building. Whether it was a residence or an out building wasn't initially clear.
If Tuesday's fires had broken out prior to the added staffing, Cal Fire officials would have relied more heavily on local agencies. They were also were busy Tuesday.
A mid-afternoon house fire in Windsor displaced a family of five. Windsor, Healdsburg and Santa Rosa firefighters responded.
About the same time, Rohnert Park, Rincon Valley, Santa Rosa and Rancho Adobe firefighters briefly responded to an apartment fire, which turned out to be a small kitchen fire.
Copyright 2014 - The Press Democrat, Santa Rosa, Calif.
