“It’s a recipe for disaster.”
That is what Cal Fire is calling this weekend. It’s going to be hot, windy, and it’s a 4th of July weekend, meaning fireworks are now in the mix. The agency says people should avoid illegal fireworks all together and be extra safe even with the legal ones.
“We really need people to be careful with fireworks,” Cal Fire Public Information Officer Amy Head said.
Head says she wants people to know how extreme the fire danger is in the Bay Area this weekend before they light fireworks.
“A very hot temperatures we are facing,” Head said. “It’s a dry wind coming from the north. It’s much drier than we are used to, that nice cool westerly wind that we usually see. So, it’s hot. And so, it’s hot and dry and relative humidity way down, so it’s much more conducive to large wildfires.”
Cal Fire always discourages the use of illegal fireworks and any fireworks that fly in the air.
But in this hot, windy Red Flag weekend, Cal Fire really wants to push the use of only legal safe and sane fireworks.
The legal ones in California have a Fire Marshal seal on them.
But even the legal ones this weekend are dangerous.
“The safe and sane ones also pose a threat because they are on fire,” Head said. “You do have to light them. Anything with a spark poses a risk. Please have water around. Make sure you have a parent around and read directions.”
Cal Fire says they are not just asking the public to step up this weekend, they are prepping for a big weekend–and they will be ready.
“We will be ready,” Head said. “We are always on extra guard on July 4 weekends, and with these weather conditions, we have pulled more resources and we are standing by.”