GILROY
– Although two small vegatiation fires at Christmas Hill Park
Wednesday were easily contained, Garlic Festival and fire officials
said they will remain vigilant during the festival because of dry
vegetation in the Christmas Hill Park area.
GILROY – Although two small vegatiation fires at Christmas Hill Park Wednesday were easily contained, Garlic Festival and fire officials said they will remain vigilant during the festival because of dry vegetation in the Christmas Hill Park area.
Late spring rains mixed with days of sunshine produced tall grasses along much of the park’s perimeter, and hot and dry temperatures the past month have caused that vegetation to become flammable, said Richard Nicholls, Garlic Festival Association executive director.
“This year is unusual because of the late spring rains and the high grasses,” he said, “we want to make sure we have everything under control.”
Garlic Festival and fire officials said today they are confident the two grass fires breaking out in Garlic Festival parking lots Wednesday were isolated incidents that won’t carry over to next week’s festival.
Both the fires came as a result of preparations for garlic festival parking lots.
At 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, two separate blazes erupted in Garlic Festival parking lots north of Miller Avenue and west of the park toward Santa Teresa Boulevard, burning nearly two acres of grass and hay stubble.
Fire officials say the fires were sparked by a private contractor hired by the Garlic Festival to cut grasses and prepare the dirt parking lots for the festival.
Three Gilroy Fire Department engines had the fires contained within 15 minutes.
“The tractor’s blade probably scraped the rocks in the ground and that was the spark,” said GFD Capt. Colin Martin. “With the spring weather we had, the conditions are just right now – low humidity, dry vegetation, hot weather.”
To ensure no fires erupt at the festival expecting daily crowds of more than 40,000 people, the GFD is scheduling to have a fire engine and four-man crew on the festival grounds at all times. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection also will have an engine, crew and tent set up in one of the festival parking lots, Martin said. Both measures have been routine during the past few years.
“The reason we are dragging and clearing these areas now is so we can make the vegetation around the festival as safe as possible when (the festival) begins,” said Nicholls, adding that private contractors have been working since Monday to clear weeds and grasses from festival parking lots surrounding Christmas Hill Park.
In years past, the Garlic Festival has seen several spot fires in its parking lots, mainly from errant cigarette butts, Nicholls said.
Wednesday’s fire burned a post-harvest hay field thick with hay stubble. The fire was easy to control because of the short stubble, but if the fire spread to neighboring tall grasses, it would’ve spread much faster, especially with any type of breeze or wind, Martin said.
“Fire danger is something that’s always been a concern for us,” Nicholls said. “We’re doing everything in our power to be prepared.”
