 Firefighters burn and extinguish grasses along the edge of the field. On this edition of Inside Look, fire season is here. It's now a never-ending season. The vegetation production this past rolling season is more extreme than others. The weather is getting hotter and vegetation is drying out, a dangerous combination for firefighters. We'll show you how they are training for another busy season and what you can do to protect your house. We'll also find out how technology is advancing the fight against wildfires. Right now on Inside Look. Cal OES logo, Inside Look, OESNews.com. Welcome to this edition of Inside Look. I'm Jonathan Goodell. You may have heard the term controlled burn or prescribed burn, but what does that really mean? And why are there so many happening around this time of year? Our own Brian May is here to tell us more. Brian? Yeah, you know, John, it's really fighting fire with fire. And the reality is it is one of the most effective ways to prevent or stop wildfires. Controlled burns eliminate ground fuel on your terms before they can become fuel for a wildfire. This year in California, due to the weather that we had, we had two growing seasons. So the vegetation production this past growing season is more extreme than others. Chris Vestel with the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire Department is taking part in what is an annual ritual for firefighters all across the state. A controlled burn or backfire, this one is in Yolo County. There's a couple of different techniques that we can use when we want to remove vegetation. Our number one goal out here today is in fact training so that we have the skills necessary during fire season. But when we talk about backfiring, what that really is is it's creating a situation where it's removing fuel so that an uncontrolled wildfire can't come onto it. And it allows us to have a chance to have it controlled and be on our terms essentially. By removing this ground fuel on their terms, these firefighters have now created defensible space all the way around this field. The same type of defensible space they urge you to have on your property. Defensible space is going to be the best way that you can help us protect your home. If there is no defensible space, we're not able to employ our tactics to adequately prevent the fire from catching your home on fire. Now no one's suggestion that you go and burn the vegetation around your home. But having defensible space can be a multi-layered protective process. Oftentimes we think that defensible space is just about vegetation, but we also want you to make your home a resilient wildfire. So we want you to remove vegetation from your roof or any kind of dry saplings that may have fallen on it. We want you to remove combustibles off your deck away from your home. Firewood should not be stacked up against your house. Alright, you may be wondering if you can just do your own burning and the quick answer is no. Cities and counties want to be sure that your controlled burn doesn't get out of control, so many require you to get a permit, John. So Brian, if someone does want to burn on their property, what do they need to know ahead of time? Well, you want to check with your city or county government and the local air pollution control district. They can tell you if you even live in an area where burning is allowed and if so, on which days. Now here's the website where you can find those districts and it makes sense because many summer days are declared spare the air days and the smoke from an optional burn can make it even more dangerous. Spare the air logo. Find local air districts. California Air Resources Board, H-T-T-P, colon forward slash forward slash w-w-w dot a-r-b dot c-a dot gov. Great stuff, Brian. Good advice as well. Now we turn our attention to you, the homeowner. You play a key role in reducing the fire risk, but you may not have been able to show exactly how to do it. Not to worry, our very own Sean Boyd dug out his tired old flannel shirts and misfit gardening gloves to show us how. Here's Sean. Sean Boyd puts in earplugs, pulls on work gloves, he picks up and starts his weed eater. It's a dirty, often back-breaking job, but you've got to do it. It's your responsibility as a homeowner. It's been the law since 2008, and it just made sense. After drought-busting rains this past winter, there is a lot. Let me repeat, there is a lot of fuel for fires this season. So clear that land around your home. According to the experts at Cal Fire, two zones make up the required 100 feet of defensible space. Zone one is 30 feet of lean, clean and green. This is where you remove dead vegetation from your yard, roof and gutters. Zone two is the remaining 30 to 100 feet of reduced fuel. Cut that annual grass down to 4 inches max. Create horizontal spacing between shrubs and trees, and vertical spacing too, at least 6 feet from your grass and shrubs to the lowest part of your trees. If you have any doubts about how well it works, take a look at these pictures. This rural home survived a wildfire. Just as this suburban San Diego home did. Defensible space. Now my neighbor is a firefighter here in Placer County, so he really understands the importance of defensible space. He gave us permission to shoot and share these aerials of his property. He's already cleared his 30 feet of lean, clean and green space. So I need to be the responsible neighbor and clear my land. We'd also like to remove the closest trees, but folks require a permit to cut, so they'll live a little longer. But not these weeds, they're a goner. Wow, that is some beautiful scenery there in Placer County, Sean, and he joins us now. And Sean, I imagine it's difficult maintaining a property of that size. It is, but it's something that you have to do, as I said in the story. First and foremost, you have to do it because California law requires that you do it to clear out that flammable material, such as brush and vegetation around your house, up to about 100 feet. Now, I said in the story there are two zones, but I'm going to add a third one. We're going to talk about the 10-foot zone. That 10-foot zone really is your ability to remove any branches from trees, at least 10 feet from your house, okay? Now we're going to go back to that 30-foot zone. That 30-foot zone is removing things like branches and dead leaves and even those wood piles, move those at least 30 feet from your house. And then finally, you've got that big 100-foot zone. That 100-foot zone is really the important zone to clear anything and everything that could burn from your house. So move that back. It also gives firefighters the opportunity to defend your home and save it without possibly injuring themselves. Yeah, Sean, you talked about the necessity of clearing space around the home, but how often in a year is it recommended? Well, it really depends on where you live and what you have around your home. You want to do it as often as needed. If you've got grasses coming up, cut them down before they get too tall and make sure that any branches that have grown since the last time you cut those down, clear those out, too. It really depends on where you live. And now for those unable to do the work themselves, what are their options? There are a lot of options, actually, and I've used many of them. There are landscape companies that will come out and do it for a decent price, shop around. There are also freelance landscapers who advertise either on Facebook or on Craigslist or even on little signs around your neighborhood. Check them out and give them a call. Local counties and municipalities will often have free chipper days, so you can drag your branches out to the street and they'll chip them for you right back into your yard. They also may have some other services. All you got to do is ask. All right. Thanks, Sean. Very insightful, as always. So we've shown you how you can be ready for this fire season, and we are doing our part as well. Advances in technology have brought online tools to the firefight. Earlier today, Brian May talked with two of the people behind Scout, a new tool recently used on some of the biggest wildfires in California. They explained how it works. And they log into the system, and the first thing they see is they'll see a map that looks like this, and then they can log into an incident, and then each incident has rooms. A computer screen displays a map with four zones, including orange, open to residents only, red, mandatory evac, yellow, advisory evac, and green, repopulation. What you specifically do on the incident, you can create a little room for your area, and then users that need that information can go to those rooms. In the past, if an engine or a unit got in trouble, it may have been more difficult to find them, even though they're calling on the radio. As you know, in smoke, you'll lose your bearings. And it's hard for people to see them. This way, with their vehicle locators in the program, you can actually see exactly where they're at. All right, thank you, Brian. Great information as we head into the weekend where the weather is going to be hot. Triple digits are forecasted in the valley, and it could reach 112 in Southern California. That means conditions are ripe across the state with fire concerns. More than 2,100 fires have burned throughout California since January 1st, already surpassing last year's total at this time. It's going to be and already has been a busy season. That's it for this edition of Inside Look. 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