Red Flag Warning puts Bay Area firefighters, residents on high alert amid wildfire threat
SANTA ROSA, Calif. (KGO) -- In the North Bay, firefighters across the region are on high alert for wildfire. A Red Flag Warning goes into effect Thursday night but already, high winds were kicking up, raising anxiety levels among homeowners.
Strong winds were kicking up across Sonoma County Thursday, signaling red flag conditions. CAL FIRE's Santa Rosa station posted a red banner letting the public know about high fire danger.
"So with red flag conditions coming in, the concern is fuels have had all summer to cure and be ready to burn, so when you add wind to that element, it drives fire behavior," said CAL FIRE Chief, Ben Nicholls.
Chief Nicholls says humidity levels are dropping fast.
"Just in the last handful of hours, we've already seen a 30% drop in our relative humidity across the region," he said.
TIMELINE: Red Flag Warning goes into effect late Thursday. Here's when highest fire danger will be
All that creating the perfect recipe for wildfire. But CAL FIRE says it's up staffed and ready with additional resources including a strike team from Humboldt County.
Two firefighting helicopters, capable of dropping 2,000 gallons water are standing by at the department's Sonoma and Napa air attack bases.
CAL FIRE crews are always training, this unit was ready for a fire call.
Across town, there are more signs posted reminding the public of high fire danger.
"It's unsettling even though the weather is nice," said Matt Gilster.
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For Santa Rosa residents, dry and windy conditions can trigger memories of the October 2017 Tubbs Fire, a firestorm which destroyed thousands of homes.
"When you have days like today, just brings back memories of Tubbs, everyone who lives here knows that," said Gilster.
Tim Bell showed us more than his go bag - he's got food and supplies for his family ready to go in the back of his Jeep.
"I have two young kids, I work in Rohnert Park so running back to get everyone, is always on the back of my mind," said Bell.
CAL FIRE urges residents to have a plan to evacuate in case of a wildfire. Keep a go bag close by with essentials, medications and important documents inside, just in case.
VIDEO: Oakland, Berkeley residents prepare for potential wildfires, wind damages
It was a beautiful Thursday night in the East Bay hills, and you'd never realize that a Red Flag Warning is going into effect.
"I don't think there's probably enough word that goes out, since I didn't know about it until you're talking about it," said Laura Stachel who was hiking when we spoke with her.
But just because some we talked with in the Berkeley hills weren't aware of this week's possibility of strong winds and low humidity, doesn't mean they haven't already prepared for it.
"I've done things like clearing piles of pine needles away from the house and cutting branches that came up close to the house. I don't really want to cut down whole trees that are near my house," said Brad Holden who lives in the Oakland hills.
"In that last big fire actually - we were in the fire area, we got evacuated and the firefighters actually used our street to spray the Claremont Hotel with water," said Stachel.
MORE: How to prepare for a wildfire evacuation
Neighbors near Grizzly Peak Boulevard in Berkeley say they feel much more prepared as they recently cleared a number of plants. City officials came out and recommended that those plants get taken out because they have oils in them that are flammable.
"Whenever there is high wind, we're concerned," said Marilyn Nasatir of Berkeley.
Fortunately for Marilyn and her husband David, the trees and power lines were still Thursday night. We didn't feel any strong wind gusts.
They're now hopeful the weather stays that way, but are well aware of what could happen, as they have evacuated twice over the years.
"It's scary at night though. Tomorrow I'll be home and we'll be cognizant of what's happening and we'll be ready to do what we have to do," said Marilyn.
