Southern California on alert for severe wildfires after dry winter
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Southern California fire chiefs cautioned Friday that a season of devastating wildfires is all but guaranteed, amid parched conditions following a dry winter.
The warning, delivered at the L.A. County Fire Department’s headquarters in East Los Angeles, is a stark reminder of how endless fire season can feel these days.
“We can never let our guard down,” said L.A. County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone, who helped lead the region through the January wildfires that destroyed thousands of homes, killed 30 people and cost billions of dollars.
He called another season of destructive fires “inevitable.”
Ronnie Villanueva, the Los Angeles Fire Department’s interim chief, said his firefighters are yet again on high alert for brush fires after months of light rainfall left heaps of dried vegetation ready to serve as kindling.
He encouraged residents to make their homes as fire-resistant as possible, getting out the weed trimmers, clearing roofs of leaves and digging under decks for dead vegetation.
“We simply cannot have a fire engine in every driveway,” he warned.
As they spoke, the chiefs from fire agencies across Southern California were flanked by green, yellow, white and red engines, as a reminder of their mutual aid agreement.
“I can assure you when that 911 calls come in and the fire is burning, there’s smoke in the air, these firefighters operate as one,” said California Office of Emergency Services Fire Chief Brian Marshall.
Santa Ana winds will soon return, the chiefs said, emphasizing that residents should have evacuation bags ready to go.
“We know it’s going to burn,” said Ventura County Fire Chief Dustin Gardner. “Because Southern California burns.”
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