Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more Local Fire Safety Leaders Urge Preparation As the weather warms, and fire season gets closer, residents are advised to take steps to ready their homes and lives, in the event of an evacuation order. Skip Descant May 15   READ IN APP   Glenn Jystad, a member of the McKinney Fire Long Term Recovery Group, and a resident of Horse Creek, speaks at a May 10 community gathering at the new pavilion on the site of the community hall in Klamath River. Skip Descant/ Siskiyou County Dispatch The time is now, while enjoying the spring weather and planning this year’s garden — put in place the pieces to leave at a moment’s notice. That’s the message among public and fire safety advocates as the fire season gets closer. “Do it now, while you have a clear head, and an easy day, and some nice weather, and some information that sort of gives you a reminder of ‘what does it mean to be ready?’” advised Glenn Jystad, a member of the McKinney Fire Long Term Recovery Group, and a resident of Horse Creek. “What’s your go-bag look like? What are your key things that you’ve got to do in the event that you’ve got evacuate in a very short period of time? Have that list. Or better yet, have that bag ready now, when it’s easy, rather than when it’s scary time,” he continued. About 60 people from the Klamath River community and surrounding areas attended a May 10 resource fair at the new pavilion on the site of the community hall in Klamath River. Skip Descant/ Siskiyou County Dispatch Jystad was helping to lead a discussion related fire season preparation and available resources at a May 10 community gathering at the new pavilion on the site of the community hall in Klamath River. The event drew representatives from the U.S. Forest Service, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CalFire), Mid Klamath Watershed Council, Fire Safe Council of Siskiyou County and others. “The being ready side of things, it’s not only important for you, it’s important for us,” Andy Branson, suppression battalion chief with the Klamath National Forest, told the roughly 60 people attending the outdoor event, on the banks of the Klamath River, an area still recovering from the 2022 McKinney Fire. Being prepared makes the fire fighting job just a little bit easier, Branson advised, adding, during the the McKinney fire, a number of Forest Service officials were tasked with driving to properties to notify owners of the danger. “The more ready you can be at the onset of these things, the less people I have to send to try to get you out,” he told the group. “Life safety is our No. 1. And then it’s property.” The McKinney Fire ignited July 29, 2022, and spread quickly across the communities of Klamath River and others, killing four residents and destroying dozens of properties.

SPRING FIRE EVACUATION UPDATE

Due to fire activity on the #springfire, Mt Shasta Police Department and the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office, with the support of our fire partners, the following zone(s) have been downgraded to NORMAL STATUS.

MTS – 6132

MTS – 6158

An 𝗘𝗩𝗔𝗖𝗨𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗡𝗜𝗡𝗚 is still in place the following zone(s):

MTS – 6155

KRCR News Channel 7 

9h  ·

#Update There are now 3 zones under Evacuation Warnings due to the #SpringFire burning in Mount Shasta.

DETAILS: https://krcrtv.com/…/firefighters-battle-blaze-on…

EVACUTION MAP: https://protect.genasys.com/zones/US-CA-XSK-MTS-6155…

FINDING YOUR EVAC ZONE: https://youtu.be/Pcjqo7riHGI?si=96eqY_OVEDaklNjH

Map: Watch Duty

Courtesy Dr. Daniel Swain, weatherwest.com

All signs continue to point to a notably hot, and possibly fiery, summer ahead across most of the West (including CA)

For several months, there has been a notable strong signal in the global “super-ensemble” (i.e., the “ensemble of ensembles” including predictions from all major global modeling groups) that this summer may be exceptionally hot across the western U.S. (and, really, across most or all of North America). The latest May update is no exception, and continues to point to a summer than may be much hotter than even (exceptionally hot) recent ones across most of the Western U.S. (and beyond).

Two details are of note: 1) There is a very high likelihood that Jul-Sep temperatures may end up in the hottest 20% of recent summers (i.e., even accounting for our climate-warmed baseline) and that yet another record hot summer is entirely possible in some areas, and 2) The anomalous warmth, particularly later this year from July onward, may reach closer to the California coast than it has the past couple of summers due to expectations that ocean temperatures will not be below average (and may end up warming to above average levels later in the season). So while the coast (as always) will still be cooler than inland areas this year, the seasonal gradient may be less pronounced than recent summers where record inland heat has been in great contrast to chilly and foggy conditions along the coast. It’s worth noting that May Grey and June Gloom are still likely, but after that, I do think this summer may be different than recent ones.

Accordingly, NIFC predictive services are now explicitly forecasting an above average fire season across most of California (away from the immediate coast), especially from July onward, and also across the Pacific Northwest, central and northern Rockies, as well as the Four Corners region. In other words: there are some striking signals pointing to widespread risk of a very active fire season across most of the West. The reasons vary a bit from location to location–in some cases, severe multi-year drought is raising risk in forests (interior SW); in others, the wet-to-dry whiplash transition expected later this summer (from wet antecedent conditions in 2024 or earlier, causing abundant grass and brush growth, followed by a dry spring and perhaps exceptionally hot summer) could be of concern in non-forest settings. In the Sierra Nevada and other higher mountain regions (including much of Colorado, and the Cascades in the PacNW), winter snowpack was quite respectable but melted very quickly this spring–leaving these upper elevations at greater risk of significant fire activity than solid peak season SWE numbers might otherwise suggest (especially in the context, once again, of a notably hotter summer potentially on tap).

In the short term, there continue to be good prescribed burning windows across CA and much of the West as the spring-to-summer transition is still underway. But there are some pretty strong signs that this summer has the potential to be a very active one, wildfire-wise, across the West–and that may be compounded by non-weather/climate-related considerations (see below).

Fire Safe Council of Siskiyou County Zoom meeting video for May 14th 2025

Subscribe! Klamath & Shasta-Trinity Prescribed Fire Project public meeting YREKA, Calif., May 14, 2025— The Klamath and Shasta-Trinity national forests are proposing the Klamath and Shasta-Trinity Prescribed Fire Project, a long-term effort to implement prescribed fire and associated fuels reduction across National Forest System lands within the boundaries of the national forests. The primary goals of the proposed project are to improve ecosystem integrity and resilience to severe wildfires, restore natural fire regimes, and protect nearby communities, as well as important social and ecological values. “The Klamath and Shasta-Trinity national forests’ prescribed fire and fuels reduction project will help us to more rapidly address dangerous forest conditions around our communities,” said Klamath National Forest Supervisor Chris Christofferson. “Combined with the new Emergency Authority Determination, this project will allow the forests and partners to focus efforts on active fuels reduction that will protect our communities and our forests from devastating wildfire. My team and I look forward to hosting a community meeting in Yreka to discuss this project.” The Klamath National Forest invites members of the public to attend a public meeting in-person or virtually via Microsoft Teams on May 21, 2025 from 5-7 p.m. More information and a link to the public meeting can be found at https://www.fs.usda.gov/  r05/klamath/events/klamath-shasta-trinity-prescribed-fire-project-public-meeting. A draft proposed action, complete with detailed maps and supporting information—including instructions on how to submit public comments—are available on the project website. Scoping period comments must be received on or before June 12, 2025.###USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender.

Klamath National Forest and Butte Valley National Grassland

Click to access Contractors-Bid-Packet-Cecilville-Final-5.2.25-2.pdf

The Fire Safe Council of Siskiyou County’s monthly meeting will be held on Wednesday, May 14, 2025, at 5:30 PM.

Please join us for important fire safe updates and lively discussions. The meeting agenda is here.