 a wooded hillside in flame and smoke coming up fires are moving i'm faster than they have in the past with the most dangerous and hottest months of summer still to come 2018 is already blazing through california you have to listen to alert and warnings heed those warnings get out of harm's way are you ready california can't be successful though without it the role you play in wildfire readiness coming up on this edition of inside cal oes logo inside look oes news dot com i'm brian man the cal oes newsroom thanks for joining us fire officials are quick to point out there really is no fire season in california anymore it is a year-round battle and it's a battle that in order to be successful relies on you and we begin with this that big fire burning in yolo county just keeps growing it's now spread to 60 000 acres and is moving toward lake barriessa in nappa county it's 2018 is already shaping up to be another one for the record books already this year there have been over 3 000 responses to wildfires in california and that's up more than 250 from this time last year and in a one-week period the week of july 4th there were over 300 responses to new wildfires in just one week california of course is a is a disaster prone state it's not just wildfire we have earthquakes and floods and all different kinds of things so we can't drop the ball and not keep our eye on all the different hazards that exist in california while fire crews continue to work around the clock to keep you safe they do ask one favor in return now is the time for you to clear your vegetation to ensure you've met all your requirements for defensible space right now it's just five percent contained there are mandatory evacuations for several areas north of highway 128 the new normal in california are devastating fire seasons and uh you know there's a finite amount of resources there there's just this we must depend on everyone in the state to be ready uh and that's neighbor helping neighbor that's you know we're from it when it comes to early warning that means neighbors sharing information with neighbors you know ensuring everyone gets out you just can't dial 911 when you have a major disaster and going to get all the resources there to help you you conceivably could be on your own for a period of time you have to listen to alert and warnings heed those warnings get out of harm's way have a plan all right joining us now live is the Cal OES state fire and rescue chief kim zageris and chief first of all thanks for joining us we just saw the numbers from 2018 on this fire season tell us what it looks like i know we're up from last year and that's not really a race that we want to win well unfortunately uh it's been a it's been a busy spring and summer's already off to hard run and i would tell you that uh at least last couple weeks uh going back to the start of the pawny fire and now onto several new fires uh we've actually seen a number of uh structures residences destroyed and other outbuildings and unfortunately uh at least with the uh climate on fire up and up uh up by hornbrook uh one fatality uh from it so uh from my standpoint it's uh not looking to be a good year and i sure hope we don't repeat 2017 chief you have resources all over the state what are your guys on the ground seeing as far as conditions i know we had the drought for a long time and then last year got out of it but the the fuels are there aren't they uh fuels are there i mean we again we had we had good rain this year so we've got an abundance of grass crop uh really throughout the state uh the other part of the uh cycle i would tell you is that uh you know we normally get uh our rain patterns and they go all winter and uh we get rain over a good period of time and we're not seeing that the way we normally do we see you know those short times of a lot of rain or just enough rain and and then we don't see anything for a while and vegetation uh both the the our timber and our brush they need more time to uh suck up that moisture much like we do when we get dehydrated it takes a little bit of time to to to get that water into our system so the fuels are in much the same situation so the drier the fuels and the more uh grass crop we have the more dangerous it ends up being for fire season and puts uh ultimately the public and our firefighters in danger chief one of the aspects of your job is to look ahead and know what conditions are coming up in the near future i know it was so bad last weekend that you guys pre-positioned some equipment around the state talk about what that entails and why you had to do that well realistically um we're lucky right now is that we've been given 25 million dollars uh uh in our budget to do mobilization for the mutual aid system and we went ahead and staff resources uh in the south part of the state and and at least the holiday fire in in in center barber county in around the city of galeta really paid off extremely well that one strike team was on the initial dispatch and was very helpful in and saving some of the structures which we wouldn't have had any losses but anyway it is it is way things are working but uh it's somewhat of a new program although we've been pre-positioning the past through a variety of means but we actually have a line budget item in which to be able to do these right now so we're very appreciative to both the governor and the legislature and the support we have from the california fire service for what we're able to do right now the harsh reality is we are still very early in the season if there is a fire season although it's almost year-round now so we still have a lot of danger ahead talk about what you need california residents to do to help you and your men and women do their job well hopefully those who are live in the wildland area um have already done their clearance although realistically we know that's not true um i would tell folks that you know uh if you live live in a wildland area you do need to have clearance a hundred feet is is is what we really need to have out there if you haven't done it already uh we would ask that if you're going to do it we would recommend you do it that you do it the morning hour is when it's cooler uh the humidity is up a little bit more if you have anything uh that you're going to do clearance uh that may cause a spark make sure you've got some water a hand tool nearby and in some way of calling 911 and if you have a fire that starts please call 911 first and then and then work towards uh you know trying to put the fire out before the fire department gets there but uh those are you know our real basic side of doing things i would also recommend that citizens if you haven't done anything check with the local fire department check with the california department of forest and fire protection cal fire and and go to the websites and and look what you need to get done and one final message chief i know we want to get out is and we say this every year if you are in an area that gets evacuation orders just how crucial it is for people to leave that area when they're told to do so it's extremely crucial not only for their safety uh but as well as the firefighters and the other emergency responders that are coming in uh it provides us more access it provides us an ability to get to get in and not have to worry about uh those folks who haven't left the area it just changes our priorities considerably if they're still in the area the other thing i would also recommend brian is that uh you know if you haven't signed up uh locally with the uh with your local emergency management agency uh please do so so you can get the alerts and warnings uh for uh you know whether it be for wildland fire whether it be for earthquake whatever it is please register don't wait till the till it's too late uh get on board and and do it now kim zegara state fire and rescue chief for calo he has chief thanks for joining us thank you before we go we want to leave you with some important but very simple tips to help you be prepared and ready in case you find yourself in the path of a wildfire first make sure you've signed up for any community warnings from your local county law enforcement and fire departments gather all of your important documents like birth certificates passports and titles along with any family pictures and have them all together in one place also have your family plan and kit ready in case you get evacuated if cell phone services down your plan should include where you and your family will meet if you're separated and your kit should include food bottled water flashlights and batteries if you're asked to evacuate do so and then as soon as you can let your family and friends know that you're safe you can go to redcross.org and register yourself as safe and well and that will do it for this edition of inside look i'm brian may for all of us at cal oes thanks for watching visit our online newsroom 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