Above-average rainfall brings added plant growth

BARSTOW • The amount of rain that has fallen on Barstow since January is already within an inch of what the area typically gets in a year, bringing more vegetation.

But even though more water brought to the High Desert may be a good thing, local fire officials say if people are not responsible, the extra plant-growth could raise the area’s fire risk.

When the vegetation begins to dry out, if residents don’t clear it to within 50 feet of their homes and other buildings, the likelihood of a structure fire increases, said Sal Corrao, assistant fire chief with the Barstow Fire Protection District. Russian thistle, or tumbleweeds, in particular can be a problem.

“People don’t get rid of them immediately and they start blowing and can stack up against people’s property,” he said. “That’s our biggest problem is inadequate clearance if there is a lot of vegetation.”

A moderate El Niño has dumped 3.43 inches of rain at the Barstow-Daggett airport since January, according to Brian Fuis, a National Weather Service spokesman. Barstow’s 30-year normal is an annual 4.33 inches, he said. And more storms could pass through the area before the El Niño wanes.

“Just about everybody in the Southwestern U.S. is well above normal,” he said. “It’s pretty good that before the end of the year most locations will be above their annual normals by the end of the year.”

Fuis said this year’s El Niño, which typically brings added precipitation to Southern California, is likely to last through the spring, which will make the plants in the High Desert grow.

The vegetation brought by the 2004-2005 El Niño dried out by April, said Steve Miller, assistant fire chief for the Newberry Springs Volunteer Fire Department. There were three wildfires that exceeded 500 acres, some started by lightening strikes, but the biggest factor was illegal fireworks.

“It kept a lot of people busy,” he said. “We had 35 engines on some of those fires. And we had (bull) dozers, we had helicopters, we even had fixed-wing aircraft. It started in April.”

Already this year Miller said he has seen some vegetation growth, but no where near the amount in 2005. He, too, encouraged people to clear the weeds and vegetation from buildings on their property, especially grass.

“Grass is a telegraph fuel, it carries the message from one source to another,” he said. “When the grass burns it doesn’t do much of anything. But when the grass brings fire next to sets of shrubbery or a wood pile, then we’ve got a home that’s threatened.”

Contact the writer:
(760) 256-4123 or jcejnar@desertdispatch.com