As weather warms, Santa Rosa prepares for Monday start of fire season

By Andrea Nakano

June 2, 2023 / 11:28 PM / CBS San Francisco

SANTA ROSA -- Fire season officially begins next week in Santa Rosa. Despite the remarkably wet winter, fire agencies across the state are worried another big fire season lies ahead.

This winter's rain has led to greener hillsides but a lot of the grass is already turning brown.

Many residents say the rain has fueled their fears of another busy fire season.

"What woke me up was the lights in our bedroom were flashing red so I looked out the window and I heard 'go! go! go!'" said WInk Grelis, a Santa Rosa resident said recalling the night in 2017 when she lost her home in the Tubbs Fire. "We left with just two dogs ... and the clothes on our backs."

Grelis has rebuilt and says that fire left her with several teachable moments. She has placed three feet of gravel around her home for it to become ember resistant. She is not letting her guard down after going through an extremely wet winter.

"It's going to make it worse because there's more vegetation to burn, absolutely," she said.

As the hills surrounding the town turn from green to brown, the Santa Rosa Fire Department will declare the start to fire season on Monday to be able to enforce weed-abatement ordinances.

"You look at what's happened here locally where we had the Tubbs, Nunn, the Kincade and the Glass Fire. That's four fires we've either been directly impacted by or threatened by and that's really made an impact on our community and we're definitely seeing our community doing things differently," said Santa Rosa fire marshal Paul Lowenthal.

Lowenthal added the community's help has made a big difference in being able to get a handle on blazes quickly. He said that work will be critical this summer.

"We don't want people to let their guard down thinking because we had all the rain we're better off this year. Yes, it definitely helped but the quick-moving grass fires are going to be the biggest concern this year."

Grelis has another piece of advice for her neighbors.

"Pay attention to the weather, be registered for all the sites that give information and just be aware."

Fire officials remind residents to have an evacuation plan and a go bag ready with all necessary medication and documents.

First published on June 2, 2023 / 11:28 PM