Ready for Wildfire app brings fire preparation to your smartphone

SANTA CLARA CO., Calif. (KGO) -- The rain has just stopped and we're not that far away from fire season, and now there's an app to help you both prevent them and avoid them.

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Hank Brown has been busy helping homeowners cut and clear high grass from around their property.

The rolling, lush, green hills of Santa Clara County will be golden brown once the rain stops.

"You've seen fires lately, last year and stuff they go awful fast," said Brown. "This stuff in another month or so will be dry if it's not cut, I mean one match off the side of the road -- it will start burning."

He's seen it and we've seen it -- wildfires scorching land and threatening California homes.

So, CalFire is trying to reach the state's digital-savvy population with a Ready for Wildfire app.

You download it, and it walks you through a checklist -- such as having defensible space around your home.

"I think it's good," Brown told ABC7 News. "I think people need to know."

The app also alerts you to fires near you, and in other counties.

"As a property owner, all we can do is keep the clearance around our house," said Laura Moosman of San Martin. "So that the app has information about a fire in a 30-mile distance."

The information could help you better plan your road trips.

"It might change your travel direction. It might have to do with exactly where you're going, so you might want to delay your travel for a little while," said Calfire spokesperson Jim Crawford.

Already, 11,000 Californians have downloaded the Ready for Wildfire App to their smartphones.

Click here to download the app.