CAL FIRE urging Bay Area residents to create defensible space as wildfire season begins

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- With summer still weeks away, officials are saying California's fire season has now officially begun.

"The unique thing about this year is that snowpack melting so soon. We had those record setting temperatures we saw in March. So what that does is it now extends the peak fire season," said CAL FIRE Battalion Chief Brent Pascua.

Experts say despite late seasonal rain, much of the vegetation around the Bay Area has already started to brown. They're encouraging residents to take preventative steps like creating defensible space around their homes.

"We don't want to force people to do anything. The fire departments don't want to enforce things. They just don't want to do that. They'd rather that people take it upon themselves to cut the vegetation back," said David Glenn with the Marin Wildfire Prevention Authority.

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While fires can happen pretty much anywhere, it's neighborhoods like those in the Oakland Hills that are especially at risk.

Fire officials are urging people to take precautions now.

Several local jurisdictions in the Bay Area have created their own defensible space rules in recent years. Sacramento is also working out how to enforce regulations statewide.

These are moves that people like Nali Seeber and Emma Hines support.

"When we go on hikes and see all the overgrown stuff, it's a little nerve-wracking," Seeber said.

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The pair said that while they think it's important to have these rules to protect people, they also think local governments need to do more -- especially when it comes to funding defensible space projects.

"Some people might have more access to means in order to prevent their homes from catching on fire," Hines said.

Fire departments say every little bit helps when it comes to creating that dead space between flammable materials and your home. They remind folks that you're protecting, not just yourself, but also everyone around you.

"We can work as a community together. That way we're protected as a community together," said Pascua.