The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection has declared that wildfire season will start May 18 in San Benito County.
The declaration by CalFire applies to all “state responsibility area lands and local responsibility lands” under the state agency’s jurisdiction in San Benito and Monterey counties.
The early fire season was declared due to the recent dry weather conditions and flammability of forest fuels and grasses. The declaration was signed by CalFire San Benito-Monterey Unit Chief David Fulcher.
The declaration was announced shortly after a May 8 fire was reported south of Hollister. The vegetation blaze burned about a 30-by-30-foot patch of roadside grass, according to a social media post by CalFire. The fire occurred on Betabel Road north of San Juan Bautista.
Furthermore, on May 7 crews responded to a vegetation fire near Panoche and Antelope Creek roads in Paicines. That fire burned about half an acre before it was extinguished, according to CalFire.
Residents and property owners are advised to prepare for fire season by implementing communication plans and emergency meeting locations, and cutting back vegetation to create a buffer of defensible space, according to CalFire.
