Planned Fire Reduction Burn Is Cancelled, Overall Fire Risk Grows

The proposed planned burn … to reduce fire danger in the mountains above Big Rock … has been cancelled by the Los Angeles County fire department.

No explanation was given.

We have a call into the county to find out why.

Just to the west of us in Ventura county … planned burns and other breast reduction projects plan for the Santa Monica Mountains have been canceled as well.

But we know the reason why.

Those parts of the mountains have already burned

Last year was one of the deadliest and most destructive for wildfires in California and 2019 could be more of the same, authorities said Wednesday.

Statewide, more than 100 people were killed, 22,000 structures were destroyed and 1.8 million acres burned in 2018 wildfires.

Ventura County Fire Department officials say another hot, dry summer … followed by a few days of Santa Ana winds … could mean more large, damaging fires.

And this means the Santa Monica Moutnains could burn again in the western half … or for the first time in a decade on the eastern half.

CalFire officals say this year’s copious rain helped with the drought … but also brought a large grass crop while the state continues to deal with 147 million dead trees.

Earlier this year, Cal Fire identified 35 fuel-reduction projects that would be a priority for this year. The agency said those cover about 90,000 acres and would help protect 200 communities.

Five projects were planned for spots that ended up in the footprint of the Thomas Fire that burned in December 2017.

Other projects had been planned but got outpaced by a two years of big, destructive fires.

“All the other projects I had planned in the last couple years burned in the Thomas Fire and in the Woolsey Fire,” said the county fire department’s Capt. Kenneth VanWig told the ventura County Star.

“All the stuff that I was prepping to deal with is gone now.”