This summer, climate change came home to San Luis Obispo County. In July, the Madre Fire burned more than 80,000 acres. Just days later, the Gifford Fire erupted and consumed more than 130,000 acres across SLO and Santa Barbara counties. Families have been forced to evacuate. Firefighters have been injured. Rural roads have been cut off.
Thanks to our hardworking fire crews, so far there has not been significant loss of life or property. But let this serve as a warning.
The fire came within a mile of the town of Pozo, closer still to homes at Pippin Corner. If this had occurred during our typical Santa Lucia winds (only a month away), we might not have had such a good outcome, even with 5,000 personnel and more than a million gallons of fire retardant dropped from planes. Backfires, which saved the day in this fire, would have been impossible…