Monsoon showers and thunderstorms hit San Diego

Source: National Weather Service

Above: Lightning strikes in the San Diego Mountains on August 11, 2021

Rain showers and lightning skies over San Diego on Tuesday morning leaves a gray and gloomy day.

You’d think these are the perfect conditions for firefighters fighting nearby fires.

But Captain John Choi of the North County Fire Protection District said it was not enough. “

Unfortunately we get this rain, although it is badly needed, it will not be enough unless we have a prolonged period of rain, â€he said.

Choi said the fire hazard remains as warmer weather is expected for the rest of the week.

“This fuel will be dried out, ready and hardened, ready to burn again. So this is not the time to let your vigilance down, â€he said.

Instead, he suggested that families use this time to develop a plan in case an emergency arises.

“Now go through them (the plans) in the rainy day schedule,” Choi said that if you are told to evacuate, come out. ”

RELATED: Every National Forest in California Is Closing Due to Risk of Forest Fire

He said all fire departments feel stress when teams are deployed to the active fires, but COVID-19 is also a problem.

“It still plagues us as a fire brigade. We have people who are not working because they are recovering from COVID-19, â€Choi said. “So we are already feeling it. We are feeling it now and this isn’t even a fire in our back yard except for the Chaparral incident. “

He said the rain was bringing an increase in 911 calls and asked the public to do their part to help the strained rescue workers.

“Slow down, take enough time to get to your destination, don’t rush,” said Choi. “Especially after the first rain after a long season without rain, we have very slippery roads due to oil spills from previous car accidents, they start to rise out of this permeable asphalt and the ground becomes very slippery as a result. We get a lot of spinouts. “

Another suggestion is to regularly check your tire maintenance and air pressure.

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