CAL FIRE bans residential burning in Solano County
The outdoor burning ban covers rural parts of Solano County that fall within CAL FIRE's State Responsibility Area.
(File photo by Matthew Keys for Solano NewsNet)
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) says it is immediately suspending all residential burn permits in Solano County and nearby counties due to high wildfire dangers posed by ongoing drought conditions.
The announcement was made Thursday morning by the fire agency’s Sonoma-Lake-Napa unit, which covers Solano County. Neighboring Yolo County and Napa County are also covered by the ban.
“California is entering its third consecutive dry year and braces for what could be another devastating wildfire season,” a CAL FIRE spokesperson said in a statement sent to Solano NewsNet.
CAL FIRE said wildfires are a “natural part of California’s landscape,” but said the dangers posed by the ongoing drought coupled with a copious amount of dead grass and poor weather conditions supported the agency’s decision to suspend residential ban permits. Firefighters with CAL FIRE and other agencies have already been dispatched to more than 700 wildfires in the state, a fire spokesperson said.
The state’s fire agency issues burn permits in portions of Solano County that fall within its State Responsibility Area. That area excludes property that falls within city boundaries and federally-owned land, but can include private properties in unincorporated areas of the region.
The ban issued by CAL FIRE on Thursday will take effect on Monday, May 23, 2022. Along with Solano, Yolo and Napa counties, CAL FIRE says the outdoor burn ban covers Lake and Colusa counties; burn permits are still being issued in Sonoma County.
The move to ban residential burning in Solano County comes after fire officials within the Vacaville Fire Protection District issued a similar edict earlier this month, Solano NewsNet reported.
This week, the National Weather Service in Sacramento issued a Red Flag Warning that covers all of Solano County. A combination of low humidity, high temperatures and gusty winds will increase wildfire dangers throughout the Sacramento Valley.
The warning period starts Thursday at 11 a.m. and lasts until Friday at 8 p.m., though it could be shortened or extended based on observed weather conditions.
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