California authorities to declare start of fire season
By: Associated Press - | ∞
LOS ANGELES -- Early summer weather is prompting the state's firefighting agency to declare the opening of fire season in 19 California counties.
The declaration will be made Monday for counties spreading from Nevada County in the north to San Diego County in the south.
"Temperatures are rising, vegetation is drying out, and summer weather patterns have begun. There is always a tremendous potential for wildfire in California," Ruben Grijalva, director of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, said in a statement Friday.
June 12 will be the opening of fire season for other counties in the north. Separately, Orange County's fire authority said it will declare the season on Wednesday.
The CDF declaration means that the agency will increase its fire preparedness. The could include hiring seasonal firefighters, staffing some fire stations around the clock and moving firefighting planes from Sacramento to areas around the state that have a high fire danger.
Grijalva said the CDF has "ample" firefighters and equipment for the season.
"We are fully prepared and ready to go," he said.
Fire seasons are based on weather. In the past, they have started as early as April in some areas and continued into December.
There already have been some problems in Southern California. In February, a wildfire that started as a controlled burn to remove brush was pushed by Santa Ana winds and spread over 11,000 acres of land. Hundreds of homes in Orange County were evacuated before the fire was contained.
Fire authorities have predicted that the biggest threat to Southern California could come in June -- the driest month of the year for that region, when grassy fuels in valleys and deserts will be tinder-dry.
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