Despite the Oak Fire, there have been a lot fewer acres burned from this summer’s wildfire season, compared to a year ago. A year ago, over 200-thousand acres had already gone up in smoke. It’s over 40-thousand so far this year. For Cal Fire’s Nevada-Yuba-Placer Unit, Division Chief Jim Mathias says they’ve extinguished around 15-hundred-20 acres, with 900 coming from the Rice’s Fire last month. It was 16-hundred-75 a year ago. There are 29 fewer fires, at 266. He says April rain and snow helped, after a virtually dry January through March. But it also means more fuel…

click to listen to Jim Mathias

Mathias is also giving more credit to fire prevention and preparedness measures…

click to listen to Jim Mathias

By this time a year ago, Cal Fire says they’d already had to battle 17 wildfires that had grown beyond a-thousand acres. There have only been six so far this season, including the Oak Fire, which is also the largest blaze of the year so far. 14 of the 20 biggest wildfires in the state’s history, and 15 of the 20 most damaging, have come in the last ten years.