It’s now a cliché in the fire world to say there is no fire season.
Let’s back up a bit.
A fire season was used for the fire suppression agencies to staff their facilities properly. Because of the seasonality of wildfire, it didn’t make sense to keep a full set of crews in stations and lookouts when there was a low likelihood of fire needing suppression.
But no one ever suggested that fires only happened in that period of time. And few suggested that the period of time was the exact same every year.
The timing of a “season” was dependent on that year’s weather, particularly on the back end. If the winter rains hadn’t arrived, for example, crews would be kept longer; and vice versa.
When someone says “during fire season”, they don’t mean it like “baseball season”. They are not suggesting that bad fires only happen during certain months, and that those months have been put on a schedule months ahead of time.
Fast forward to all the large wildfires since the 2000s. Some of them appear to be at strange times of years: “outside the season”. It may seem true using a fixed version of “fire season” that was never really in use anyway.
If it doesn’t rain on the Front Range of Colorado between July and January, that fire season will last until January. Same thing happened in Malibu this year. It was January, yes, but it was squarely in fire season from the perspective of fire professionals – due to the fact it hadn’t rained much in 9 months.
Myth #1 There is a fixed fire season.
Myth #2 Many fires occur outside of fire season.
Utility Takeaway
Don’t be afraid, there is a clear path to success.
#1 Have a plan that includes situational awareness. Meaning, take the worry out of the unknown and track upcoming weather (either through internal resources or outside entities). They are inexpensive, and one of the best “bangs for the buck” for wildfire risk reduction.
You can go about your job until the situational awareness gives you a little warning, and most of the time that warning is several days in advance.
Don’t be fooled by expensive approaches. If you aren’t in the red areas, you don’t need a “red” level solution. With a little training, you will feel the comfort and peace of mind of knowing when you are about to get smacked in the face, and you’ll be ready for it.
#2 Follow your plan.