‘Another dire year’: San Mateo County works to lower risk as fire season looms

by Astrid Casimire, Bay City News Foundation March 22, 2022May 17, 2022

With memories of the devastating 2020 CZU Lightning Complex fires still fresh on their minds, San Mateo County leaders are working to reduce fuels and encourage residents to prepare themselves for the upcoming wildfire season. Prescribed burns like this one in Edgewood Park in Redwood City help reduce the risk of wildfire later in the year. (Photo courtesy of County of San Mateo)

Wildfire prevention has always been top of mind for San Mateo County officials, but the rampant fires of 2020 have accelerated their efforts even more.

Jonathan Cox, deputy chief of Cal Fire’s San Mateo County Division, said the CZU Lightning Complex fires in August 2020 were a big wake-up call for them. The fires burned more than 86,000 acres in San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties, making them the biggest fire of the last 100 years for Cal Fire’s San Mateo-Santa Cruz unit.

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