San Diego Fire Report Offers Ominous Signs

A report released on Thursday details the challenges San Diego has faced when it comes to recent wildfires, along with the threats it faces in the future.

The San Diego County grand jury released the report, which calls for immediate funding to make sure the city and county are prepared for wildfires.

It was just last October that wildfires took a heavy toll on local property. The Witch Creek blaze alone last fall burned more than 197,000 acres, destroyed 1,125 homes and more than 200 vehicles, and killed two people in Poway.

Titled "The Fire: Next Time, Will We Be Ready?," the report looks at how two major fires in the last five years have impacted San Diego, and calls for a response much greater than what local authorities can currently muster.

In the grand jury report, which requires elected officials to respond to within 90 days, the call for fire and public safety to garner more budgetary importance is made loud and clear. San Diego County generally spends about 9 million a year for firefighting protection.

The report also says that researchers believe the area's fire season has increased by two months and that nearly 7 times more land is destroyed than in the 1970s.

The 2003 fires that hit San Diego killed 22 people and leveled 3,640 homes.