UC manager an eyewitness to the severe SoCal fires

"Southern California is burning . . . . I've never seen anything like this!" begins a note written yesterday by Myriam Grajales-Hall, the manager of UC ANR's News and Information Outreach in Spanish program, which is headquartered at UC Riverside.

"My family and I went to downtown LA yesterday, and by the afternoon, the sky was dark, the smell of smoke pervaded the city and ashes were falling everywhere. As we were coming back home in the evening, we could see flames on the hill . . . as far as the eye could see . . . . An eerie sight, indeed."

ANR Governmental and External Relations is getting wildfire information out to the public in an online media kit and

• Grajales-Hall and her staff are distributing UC ANR information on wildfire to the Spanish-language media.
• Assistant director of ANR News and Information Outreach Pam Kan-Rice distributed an English-language news release on What to do before, during an after a wildfire to the media last Friday.
• NAIO director Steve Nation is sending information to state and federal elected officials in parts of Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside counties on the whole gamut of resources provided by ANR and UC on what to do before, during and after wildfires so that they have the links available for their constituents. 

Some news reports have described the 2008 fire season as the worst ever; and California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has redefined the "fire season," saying it isn't just June to October anymore. According to a story posted on eFluxMedia.com, global warming and climate change have brought higher winter temperatures and less rainfall, making California's fire season year round.

Two media outlets used UC sources in their wildfire stories over the weekend:

The San Jose Mercury News sought comment from the co-director of the Fire Center at UC Berkeley, Max Moritz. He said 2008's disastrous fire season could have been worse.

"We got lucky this year. We have didn't that many hot dry, windy days this summer. And that's why the fire season has progressed the way it has," the story quoted Moritz.

Stockton Record reporter Dana Nichols spoke to UC Cooperative Extension wood durability advisor Steve Quarles about Australia's  "stay or go" firefighting strategy. A similar approach is commonly called "shelter in place" in the United States. California officials worry that "shelter in place" encourages people to ignore evacuation orders.

But the Australia approach involves more than just staying put, Quarles said.

"There is a training aspect that goes along with homeowners in stay or go communities in Australia, so when the fire passes through and they shelter in their home, they come out and they start putting out small fires that are still around, and they train in how to do that," Quarles was quoted. "If you don't have that training, then staying isn't the best thing for you."

fire

Read more