Level Of Moisture In Back Country Brush Appears Normal – And Getting Drier
Written by 991KBU on August 10, 2020
The grass and brush in the Santa Monica mountains is drying out … and it is almost exactly tracking the average fire danger from years past.
The latest data from the L A County fire department shows that fire amount of moisture in the grass … bushes and trees is tracking the average amount detected over the past 39 years.
Every week … firefighters measure the moisture content in the fire-prone vegetation.
Right now … in the Santa Monica Mountains … that average is around 72 percent.
When it dries up … and drops to 60 percent … that’s when the most-severe and dangerous fire conditions exist.
Right now … the average conditions appear to be following the average curve … which will bottom out just above that 60 percent critical level.
Fuel moisture content is one of several indicators of fire danger … along with the amount of grass and weeds spawned by the winter rains.