The wet winter should mean a later start to the fire season this year. But CAL FIRE Captain John Hotchkiss says it’s too early to say whether the season will be any less dangerous. So they’ve hired an additional 22 firefighters for the Nevada-Yuba-Placer Unit to help with vegetation reduction and defensible space programs…

click to listen to John Hotchkiss

Hotchkiss says CAL FIRE’s goal is to work cooperatively with property owners to identify and reduce the hazards that might be present right in their own backyards. He says wildland vegetation near residential areas will always have the highest priority…

click to listen to John Hotchkiss

Hotchkiss says crews can get a lot more work done, and more quickly, in the spring before temperatures heat up earlier in the day, creating hazardous conditions for such work.