LAMORINDA WEEKLY | MOFD Volunteers reinstall weather station for the upcoming fire season


The portable Remote Automated Weather Station. Photo provided

Three members of the Moraga Orinda Fire Districts' Communications-Support volunteer group recently helped reinstall a portable Remote Automated Weather Station (RAWS). Charlie MacNulty (Moraga), Jason Matthews and Carol Bergren (Orinda) assisted MOFD Emergency Preparedness CoordinatorDennis Rein with the project. With fire season quickly approaching, collecting a good baseline of fuels and weather information is important, according to Rein.

The station, which was donated to the fire district by the Rescue One Foundation in 2019, was taken off line last fall for maintenance. When operational, the station collects data on relative humidity, air temperature, fuel moisture, fuel temperature, wind speed and direction, peak wind gust and direction, solar radiation, and rainfall hourly. The station can be queried by fire managers in the field via radio to provide real-time data during an emergency.

"The District is working on wildfire preparedness projects year-round," Rein commented. "We need every homeowner's help to manage their property and keep our communities safer. Fire season will be here before we know it."

For more information on how to prepare for fire season visit: www.mofd.org/our-district/fuels-mitigation-fire-prevention.

The data from the station is available to the general public here: https://mesowest.utah.edu/cgi-bin/droman/meso_base_dyn.cgi?stn=TT612