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San Mateo County Live Fuel Moistures: August 2014

August live fuel moisture for the Unit is posted at http://www.wfas.net/index.php/national-fuel-moisture-database-moisture-drought-103  and summarized below:

Location

Current (%)

8/18

Previous (%)7/22

Change

Hwy 35 & 92 - coyote brush

140

139

+1

Pulgas - coyote brush

100

107

-7

Saratoga Summit - chamise

63

66

-3

new growth

66

71

-5

old growth

59

62

-3

Corralitos - manzanita

76

73

+3

new growth

75

74

+1

old growth

77

72

+5

Live fuel moisture levels continue to run below average at all sampling sites and are at record lows for this time of year at Saratoga Summit and Pulgas.  Manzanita at Corralitos has reached the “critical” level and Chamise at Saratoga Summit is at or just above “critical.”  For Manzanita, the critical threshold is considered 80%; for Chamise 60%.  There is no established critical threshold for coyote brush.  Critical live fuel moisture is defined as “the moisture content at which sustained, fast spreading, high intensity wildfires can occur.”   

Learn more about Live Fuel Moisture and its importance in determining potential wildland fire behavior and relative fire danger...