Many residents unconcerned or unaware of present danger
By Jessica Thy Nyguyen Special to the Dispatch
Gilroy – The height of fire season is just around the corner, but many rural Gilroy residents are either unconcerned about the possible dangers or unaware of the threat posed to their homes.
Seven out of 10 homeowners believed their residence to be at minimal risk of damage by a wildfire, according to an informal survey conducted of Gilroy residents living on New Avenue, Estates Drive and Roop Road in the northeast foothills.
Meanwhile, a survey of 312 homeowners conducted by the California Fire Safe Council and The Allstate Foundation found similar results, that 84 percent of residents in nine Bay Area counties believe it is unlikely their home will be damaged as a result of wildfires.
Homes located in the outskirts of Gilroy encroaching wilderness lands are considered high fire danger areas and most likely to be damaged by wildfires.
“We wish the people who lived in (those) areas would have more awareness of wildland fires,” said David Athey, operations chief for the South Bay Division of the Santa Clara Unit of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
This year has been relatively quiet in terms of significant wildfires, but a blaze burned part of a field and backyard fence on Estates Drive near Roop Road on June 3 and only four of the 10 surveyed Gilroy homeowners in the neighborhood were aware of the fire. The other seven residents were unaware of the blaze and when told, said it would unlikely reach their home.
William and Anita Jury live three houses from where the fire occurred, said they were not worried about wildfires damaging their home and doubted it would spread past the other houses.
Athey said he was not surprised by the casual attitude of the surveyed residents.
“It takes the experience of living in the hills for many years through fire many seasons for people to be concerned,” he said. “That’s what came after the Oakland Hills fire in 1991.”
The firestorm struck the Oakland and Berkeley hills, Sunday October 20, 1991, killing 25 people and injuring 150. Thousands of acres were destroyed along with 2,449 single-family dwellings and 437 apartments and condominium units. The economic loss was estimated at $1.5 billion.
Already, this year’s fire season is on pace to outnumber last year’s fires.
There was a total of 34 vegetation related fires within Gilroy in 2005 and so far there have already been 23 fires this year. Gilroy Fire Department fire chief Dale E. Foster said the heavy rain earlier this year is partially to blame.
One reason why the amount of wildfires has increased is because of the amount of rain that occurred earlier in the year, producing more vegetation and weed growth in the interface areas, Foster said.
“There are many factors that affect a wildfire,” he said. “The severity of the fire once it gets started and how fast it spreads is a direct effect of temperature.”
The fire season this year is expected to last till the second week of October but could be shortened or lengthened by increased heat, or an early rainy season.
Rain produces more weeds, fueling fires and dry, hot weather speeds up the burning process, Foster said.
“It’s a double edged sword with heavy rain or drier, hotter weather. Nature based factors affect the potential for fire,” he said.
The largest fires that occurred recently in this area were the Santa Clara Complex incident in September 2003 and the Croy Road fire in September 2002. The Santa Clara Complex fire lasted for a month, burned 30,170 acres of uninhabited hills from Gilroy to Brentwood and injured four people.
The Croy Road fire lasted for three weeks and burned 3,127 acres in the Morgan Hill area, destroyed 31 residences and injured 13 people.
Randy Miller, a Croy Road resident, said he prepared for the 2002 fire by maintaining the weeds on his property.
“I was scared that it would come towards my place,” he said. “It was probably less than a mile away.”
Miller said he also had hoses ready to water the area surrounding his property in case the fire spread towards his home.
Claudia Salewski lives on Roop Road and has taken necessary precautions to protect her property from wildfires. She said she was concerned of the dangers to her home because of the people who carelessly throw cigarettes onto the road.
“It’s just scary how people flying by on their way up to the lake don’t think that it’s people’s homes they’re passing by,” she said.
Salewski said she has created a defensible space around her home by keeping a green landscape clear of leaf debris and dry grass.
Even in the last few days, smaller wildfires have started, but were quickly extinguished.
One occurred on Coyote Creek Road between the golf course and Kirby Canyon Dump Monday, burning about 60 acres. There was also a smaller roadside fire on U.S. 101 off of Tennant Road that burned less than an acre of land later in the day.
Both Athey and Foster stressed the importance of wildfire awareness in the community, and the importance of preparing residential areas for wildfires.
“The cities have expanded up into the hills and are moving into wild, less populated areas, more prone to wildfire,” Athey said. “They need to be concerned.”
Jessica Thy Nguyen is interning at the Dispatch. Reach her at jn*****@************ch.com or 847-7240.
