SANTA MARIA, Calif. - This week's rainstorm is a welcome sight for many on the Central Coast, especially for firefighters and others who work in the fire response industry.
"All this rain right now is great," said Ernesto Garcia, U.S. Forest Service Assistant Fire Engine Operator. "We've definitely been a little bit drier than than normal, so our fuel moisture and our rain totals in general have been low."
Rain that arrived on Tuesday and continued into Wednesday morning has brought much-needed relief to dry hillsides and other wildland areas that have been parched for months having endured several months without any significant precipitation.
"Having this rain is going to benefit everything," said Garcia. "It's going to hopefully decrease some of that danger that we have for all these fires like we've just had down like in L.A. area. All these rains should be beneficial for us."
On Wednesday morning, the fire meter outside the U.S. Forest Service Los Padres National Forest ranger station in Santa Maria had its needle pointed at "high," a worrisome level for this time of year.
"Hopefully having this little bit of rain, we can hopefully drop that needle and be at a lower level," said Garcia. "It should be way, way lower. I was actually looking at the numbers in 2022 and our fuel moisture we're up at 90% and our critical level here is, 60%. And right now we're sitting at 66%. So it's still pretty close to critical at the moment."
With more rain in the forecast for later in the week and potentially next week as well, fingers are crossed the precipitation will continue to drop fire risks and conditions to even lower levels.
"This rain right now is great," said Garcia. "Looking at some of the forecasts, we're being very hopeful that we continue getting this rain and really put this in more of that winter mode where it can be like, okay, now it's nice and wet, and we can enjoy a little bit of this wintertime here in California."
This week’s rainstorm helping quench parched hillsides, improving dangerously high wildfire conditions News Channel 3-12.
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