San Mateo County Could See 'Significant Wildfire Year': Cal Fire

SAN MATEO COUNTY, CA — Just a year after a record-setting wildfire season across the state, Cal Fire officials with the San Mateo and Santa Cruz units warned that 2021 could be a “potentially significant wildfire year” after an unusually high number of wildland fires over the last week and unfavorable weather conditions.

In a news release Monday, Cal Fire CZU said it has responded to five wildland fires since last Wednesday and needed air resources to fight several of them, a decision that is usually not necessary until early June.

According to officials, rainfall totals are half of what is normal for this time of year in the region. The dry and warm conditions, combined with ongoing drought, mean that “fuels are apt to burn.”

Officials warned people to stop conducting burn piles, which were responsible for several of the fires over the last week, adding that a burn ban may be put in place.

Another one of the fires was a six-acre fire in the area of last year’s CZU Lightning Complex fire — the largest fire in Santa Cruz County history, burning over 86,500 aces — which was identified as the result of a “sleeper spot."

Officials said that dry conditions can fan sleeper spots, which could reignite surrounding vegetation even months later.