By Scott Mobley
The Record Searchlight

REDDING, Calif. — North state officials are warning residents to carve brush-free zones around their homes to help fend off a fire season that may start early this year, thanks to modest winter rainfall and an exceptionally dry spring.

"The grass is already turning in the majority of the city," said Jeff Granberry, public information officer for the Redding Fire Department. "We've already had a grass fire off Breslauer Way. Things are dry."

Officials up and down California are issuing similar warnings about a fire season that has already started after an eight-week dry spell that Tuesday's rains did little to dent.

Capt. Drew Smith, a fire behavior analyst with the Los Angeles County Fire Department, said destructive wildfires could occur this year in Southern California even without the powerful Santa Ana winds that drove blazes around the region last year. Mountainsides are dry since the rains stopped in February and are still covered with vegetation killed in last year's cold snap, Smith said.

In Shasta County, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection has responded to numerous escaped burn pile fires and "prescribed" burns so far this year, said information officer Linda Galvan. That includes a 511-acre, U.S. Forest Service-conducted brush burn near Platina that escaped April 18 and consumed about 63 acres of chaparral outside the planned fire parameter.

Cal Fire volunteers since January have inspected about 1,000 properties throughout unincorporated Shasta County for compliance with state laws on defensible space, Galvan said. The law requires at least 100 feet of brush clearance around homes to protect property and the firefighters battling any blaze that may sweep through.

Inspectors have found that more property owners are planning ahead for fire season, Galvan said.

"We've been hit a couple of times, and Southern California has been hit," Galvan said. "People know what happened in Southern California in 2003 and 2007. They know what they need to do and they are doing it, although some are not as far ahead of the game as others."

Cal Fire officials credit dedicated brush clearing around homes with helping crews battle the 200-acre Creek Fire in June. That fire threatened about 100 homes near Clear Creek in far southwest Redding.

Precipitation at Redding Municipal Airport stood at roughly 77 percent of normal to date as of Wednesday afternoon, National Weather Service records show. Precipitation to date at this time last year was about 69 percent of normal at the airport.

A relatively mild summer with few thunderstorms or arson outbreaks meant the north state escaped serious fires last year despite the ultradry conditions. It's impossible to predict how bad this season will be, but it's best to expect the worst, Galvan said.

"The potential for a dangerous fire season is always there whether it's wet or dry," Galvan said. "That's why we're asking people to make themselves as safe as they can."

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