California is on the verge of having a second straight year of relatively mild wildfire damage, thanks to one of the wettest and snowiest winters on record. Cal Fire has responded to 373 fewer incidents, compared to a year ago at this time, or 57-hundred-41, as of the beginning of October. But acreage is up by 17-thousand, at over 305-thousand. However, most of that has been in the sparsely-populated northwest corner of the state. Meanwhile, the Nevada-Yuba-Placer Unit has responded to 60 fewer incidents, or 287, with acreage plummeting from over 19-hundred a year ago to only 425. Cal Fire Captain Chris Bruno also credits more robust prevention efforts…

click to listen to Chris Bruno

And Bruno says with fewer wildfires to respond to, there’s been more time for vegetation reduction work this year…

click to listen to Chris Bruno

There’s also a program that’s doubled the acreage deprived of fuel by prescribed burns this season. The five-year average has been one-point-two million acres burned. But the agency also reminds residents that October has historically featured many of the most destructive wildfires in the state’s history.