MANY LIKELY TO FEEL HEAT OF FIRE SEASON OFFICIALS STRESS TRAINING AND BRUSH CLEARANCE.Byline: DANA BARTHOLOMEW Staff Writer LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE -- Faced with the driest weather in history, Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, fire chiefs warned Thursday that firefighters and residents need to brace for an especially dangerous fire season. Fire chiefs from Ventura to San Bernardino San Bernardino, city, United States San Bernardino (săn bûr'nədē`nō), city (1990 pop. 164,164), seat of San Bernardino co., S Calif., at the foot of the San Bernardino Mts.; inc. 1854. counties stressed the need for fire training -- and brush clearance. "The most important thing the public can do is to clear their brush ... to give firefighters a fighting chance one dependent upon the issue of a struggle. See also: Fighting to defend their property," said Chief Doug Barry of the Los Angeles Fire Department The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD), also known as the Los Angeles City Fire Department to distinguish it from the Los Angeles County Fire Department. It is the agency that provides fire protection and emergency medical services for the city of Los Angeles. , who met with area chiefs at a county fire station at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory “JPL” redirects here. For other uses, see JPL (disambiguation). Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a NASA research center located in the cities of Pasadena and La Cañada Flintridge, near Los Angeles, California, USA. . Fire prevention plans are being drawn from Sacramento to Southern California at the close of the driest weather season in history. Since July, Los Angeles has received a scant 3.21 inches of rain. Wildfires, including the nearly 1,000-acre blaze that burned a quarter of Griffith Park last month, have increased from 296 from January to June last year to 2,100 in 2007. Brush moisture levels are dropping toward critical levels throughout the region. On Friday, a firefighting DC-10 jumbo jet will be deployed in Victorville under contract to the state. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has also signed an executive order to add resources to firefighters across the state. "We're pre-planning what could happen this year in order to be ahead of the game," said Chief Bob Roper of the Ventura County Fire Department Not to be confused with Ventura Fire Department. The Ventura County Fire Department (VCFD) provides fire protection and emergency response services for the unincorporated areas of Ventura County, California, and for six other cities within the county. . "Our firefighters are doing training, training and more training." Residents should not only cut back brush and flammable ornamental plants, the chiefs said, but also make evacuation plans that would include more than one route, what items to bring and where to take family pets. dana.bartholomew@dailynews.com (818) 713-3730 |
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