It's never too early to be prepared.

This year's fire season hasn't officially started, but since flames don't use a calendar, authorities hope residents are taking the necessary steps to be ready.

That's because the near record-setting rainfall the area recently experienced won't be enough to keep this from being a potentially dangerous fire season. The wet weather actually may end up being a contributing factor.

While the rainfall helped pushed back the typical start of fire season —— which many years kicks off in late April or early May —— the thick green grass and brush nourished by the rains could now themselves feed flames.

"A fire has to start somewhere," Capt. Rick Vogt of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said Monday. "The potential for fire is greater because of the (recent) grass growth."

Though green now, the fresh grass and brush is more likely to die and dry out, Vogt said, making for quick fuel should it spark.

"Once it gets going, it builds up heat and moves into heavier brush," Vogt said, referring to brush that has already been dead for years.

That's why Vogt says it is critical that people understand how important it is for them to take steps to prevent any sort of spark.

One of the best ways, he said, is to provide firefighters with 100 feet of "defensible space" around homes and other structures. As of Jan. 1, that became the law, increasing the space requirement from the previous maximum of 30 feet.

Fire officials say the 100 feet of clearance increases the chance of a home surviving a wildfire as well as providing enough room for firefighters and equipment to get between the home and approaching flames.

Another way residents can be prepared is to be aware of how their activity could potentially lead to a fire.

A large percentage of the larger fires in Southwest County are human-caused, "either from negligence, carelessness or arson," Vogt said. "Any spark has the potential to start a fire."

Sparks can come from such seemingly harmless activities as people riding off-road vehicles, practicing shooting near vegetation or even using a lawnmower and having a blade strike a rock.

"We aren't taking about intentional acts (of arson) here, but even things like that can end up causing a destructive or tragic fire," Vogt said.

Those who started them —— even if they did so accidentally —— can end up footing the bill for the cost to fight the fire.

"People need to be aware of the consequences of their actions," Vogt said. "People can be held responsible (through civil court) for the cost of suppressing a wildland fire."

Such costs, for large fires, can easily reach into the millions of dollars. Even with fire season not yet here, fire officials are taking early precautions.

Two weeks ago, CDF began adding firefighters to what are called "wildland engines" at state fire stations. Locally those include fire stations in Temecula, Lake Elsinore, Sage and Anza, Vogt said.

That's because Southwest County, as always, is at extreme risk for large fires.

By this time last year, more than 25,000 acres had been charred locally. The Cerrito fire blazed across more than 16,000 acres north of Lake Elsinore while the Eagle fire along Highway 79 South east of Temecula destroyed about 9,000 acres.

Once fire season is declared, state and county fire stations will add even more firefighters.

The decision on when to begin this year's fire season comes from CDF officials in Sacramento and is based on a variety of environmental factors, Vogt said.

For more information about being fire safe visit your local fire station or go to www.fire.ca.gov, or www.rvcfire.org.

Contact staff writer John Hall at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2628, or jhall@californian.com.