This week’s rainstorm helping quench parched hillsides, improving dangerously high wildfire conditions

SANTA MARIA, Calif. - This week's rainstorm is a welcome sight for many on the Central Coast, especially for firefighters and others who work in the fire response industry.

"All this rain right now is great," said Ernesto Garcia, U.S. Forest Service Assistant Fire Engine Operator. "We've definitely been a little bit drier than than normal, so our fuel moisture and our rain totals in general have been low."

Rain that arrived on Tuesday and continued into Wednesday morning have brought much-needed relief to dry hillsides and other wildland areas that have been parched for months having endured several months without any significant precipitation.

"Having this rain is going to benefit everything," said Garcia. "It's going to hopefully increase some of that danger that we have for all these fires like we've just had down like in L.A. area. All these rains should be beneficial for us."

On Wednesday morning, the fire meter outside the U.S. Forest Service's Santa Lucia Los Padres National Forest Ranger Station in Santa Maria had its needle pointed at "high," a worrisome level for this time of year.

"Hopefully having this little bit of rain, we can hopefully drop that needle and be at a lower level," said Garcia. "It should be way, way lower. I was actually looking at the numbers in 2022 and our fuel moisture we're up at 90% and our critical level here is, 60%. And right now we're sitting at 66%. So it's still pretty close to critical at the moment."

Rain totals were impressive in many parts of the Central Coast, including in some locations in the San Luis Obispo County hillsides and mountains, where up to five inches was recorded.

"We love to see wetting rain," said Ryan Grebe, CAL FIRE San Luis Obispo County Fire Department public information officer. "Typically in the last few years we've had rain come through early in the season, but it wasn't wetting rain. It was just like drizzle and light rain that did not penetrate the ground. Any sustained rain that we get in the county really reduces fire risk, the relative humidities go up, the live fuel moisture goes up and there's less potential for any fires to grow bigger and really cause any, harm."

With more rain in the forecast for later in the week and potentially next week as well, fingers are crossed the precipitation will continue to drop fire risks and conditions to even lower levels.

"We have another storm coming in next week," said Grebe. "It's a little bit less rain, but we welcome a break in the storms. We absorb the rain into the ground, there's a break, and then there's more additional rain after that, so it's great."