Showers and lightning-filled San Diego’s skies Tuesday morning, leaving behind a gray and gloomy day.
One would think these are the perfect conditions for firefighters battling nearby fires.
But Capt. John Choi with the North County Fire Protection District said it's not enough. “
Unfortunately, this rain we’re getting, although it's much needed, it's not gonna be enough unless we have a sustained duration of rain,” he said.
Choi said the risks of fires remain as warmer weather is expected the rest of the week.
“That fuel is gonna be dried up, ready and cured, ready to burn again. So this is not the time to let your guard down,” he said.
Instead, he suggested families use this time to come up with a plan in case an emergency presents itself.
“Go through them (the plans) right now in the rainy day schedule," Choi said. "Make sure everything is up to date, your documents are all up to date, your pill bottles are refilled, and you have all the necessary equipment that if you were to be told to evacuate, get out.”
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He said all fire departments are feeling a strain as teams get dispatched to the active fires, but COVID-19 is also a problem.
“It's still plaguing us as a fire agency. We have guys not at work because they are recovering from COVID-19," Choi said. "So we're already feeling it. We’re feeling it now and that's not even having a fire in our backyard other than the Chaparral incident."
He said the rain brings an increase in emergency response calls and asks the public to do their part to help the strained emergency responders.
“Drive slower, give yourself plenty of time to get to your destination, don't rush,” Choi said. “Especially after that first rain from a long season of no rain, we have very slick roads from oil spills from previous car crashes, they start to come up out of that permeable asphalt and it makes the floor very very slippery. We get a lot of spinouts.”
Another suggestion is to regularly check for tire maintenance and proper air pressure.
