I'm Maureen Cavanaugh, it's Tuesday, August 16. Our top story on Midday Edition, the heat wave may be hot and sticky in the coastal regions of San Diego, but it's hot, dry and windy fire weather in the mountains and deserts. There's a red flag warning for the mountain and desert areas into tomorrow night. Meanwhile there are eight active wildfires burning in California and some San Diego firefighters are working those places. I spoke to Kendall -- Kendal Bortisser. Welcome. Thank you good to be here. What is this status of the wildfires burning? Right now there are eight large wildfires with over 9000 firefighters on the frontlines. That's all the way from the Oregon border all the way to Southern California. Are San Diego crews joining efforts to fight fires? We have a number of Crugers that Sandy -- from San Diego and others throughout the county committed throughout the state assisting with the buyers. There were national headlines made today about an arsonist caught for actually deliberately starting the Clayton fire of North. Yes and that's great news. The investigators work round-the-clock to try and determine the cause of these fires. Whether it's a small or large one and this one certainly -- what this individual is being looked at, is he's caused the number of fires up and down the state. That's great news. What did fire conditions look like in San Diego County? We were in a fire weather watch and warning the last couple of days but that has been upgraded to a red flag warning. We are in critical fire weather. When there's a red flag warning in effect, what does that mean for your crew and staffing levels? In anticipation of any fire weather watch are warning, high fire danger, we have the ability to put in place a staffing pattern. A staffing pattern can mean additional crews, additional equipment, it can mean canceling days off for folks. It can be holding personal on-duty. Lots of different options with our staffing patterns. We have one in place right now because we have units committed on fires up north where we had brought on additional personnel an additional equipment. We have read temperatures are going to be near triple digits in some areas of the mountains and deserts. There's extremely low humidity and we can see when guests up to 40 miles per hour. Is that a recipe for fire danger? It certainly is. We're live at threat of wildfire year-round in San Diego and the multi-year drought has been no help. Certainly the summer months we are used to seeing higher temperatures and low humidity. The wind is the critical factor. We've seen some of the most destructive fires in the nation that have occurred right here in San Diego County. We continue to see the wins is a critical factor. We can't control the wind. Is the same as a hurricane coming onto the East Coast. You won't stop that and you won't stop the wins when they are here. All we can do is be proactive and have equipment replaced and personnel on duty. In the event something should start, we can make a strong attack from the air and ground. Have crews been going out for spot fires? The majority of than the public doesn't hear about because our crews do a great job of jumping on them quick. We put a lot of equipment to all of our wild land responses. They are doing it just -- great job keeping them small. We liked control 95% of our fires it 10 acres or less. We have a good record of doing that. Those of the fires the public doesn't hear about. However, is the larger ones about that, the 10 acres that make the public and news. Those are many of the once burning in the state right now. Captain Kendal Bortisser, you talk about the winds and how essential that is to the creation of the big blazes we have endured in San Diego. Are firefighters concerned about fire conditions this year as we head into the Santa Anna went season like We watched the drought continue year after year. The fuels are dead and dying. There's nothing -- no amount of rain won't bring the dead fuels back there , they are sitting out there and they are ready to burn. We saw fire conditions in late June on the border fire that we normally don't witness until September. And so we are seeing the season ahead of itself. The firefighters are certainly -- we're concerns. But we have to assure that everybody is ready in the event anything should happen. As I said, we are able to jump on them quick and keep them small. When it comes to the heat itself, you have any advice for residents on what they can do to stay safe game that -- during the heat wave? If at all possible stay inside in the air-conditioning were it's cooler. So you can stay out of the heat. We see time after time during the hot days, folks are hiking in the back country. We're doing rescues in many areas of the county because folks are going to the rural areas and going hiking. They are taking enough water and are getting dehydrated. We have to go perform rescues. Certainly you have to know what your physical condition is and if you're capable of doing the height. Take enough water and let someone know where you are. Those are key features. The big thing is stay out of the sun. That's great advice. I have been speaking with fire Captain Kendal Bortisser. Thank you so much. You are welcome and have a great day.
An intense summer heat wave kept the San Diego area sweltering for a fourth straight day Tuesday, heightening wildfire risks in mountain and desert communities.
The unrelenting hot spell, combined with stiff, gusty winds and low humidity levels, prompted the National Weather Service to extend a previously issued "red flag" wildfire warning by 24 hours, until 9 p.m. Thursday. The alert indicates imminent potential for "extreme fire behavior."
High temperatures Tuesday afternoon are expected to range from 77 to 82 degrees along the coast, 87 to 92 inland, 91 to 96 in the western valleys, 96 to 101 near the foothills, 93 to 99 in the mountains and 109 to 114 in the deserts, the weather service advised. Winds of 25 to 30 mph, with gusts of up to 40 mph, are possible in the deserts and mountains.
On Monday, the heat wave pushed afternoon temperatures into the 80s and 90s along the coast, the 90s to 105 in inland areas, the low to mid-90s in the East County highlands and up to 113 in the local deserts, the weather service said. It also led to a heat record in Alpine, where the high of 102 degrees surpassed the prior Aug. 15 milestone of 101, set last year. El Cajon's maximum mark of 103 matched its previous record for the date, also logged in 2015.
Authorities advised the public to guard against potentially serious heat- related ailments by staying hydrated; avoiding unnecessary outdoor labor; checking on neighbors and relatives, especially the elderly; and making sure to never leave children, seniors or pets in parked cars, which can quickly become death traps when temperatures are high.
