Cal Fire Prepares For Another Smoky Season

It’s beginning to look a lot like fire season in California.

Daniel Berlant of Cal Fire says the agency responded to 169 new wild fires last week alone, one of which burned more than a thousand acres.

"We are still in drought conditions, even though we have had some relief with recent rain this winter and this spring, we’re still drier than we should be," Berlant says. "And there are some parts of the state that just didn’t receive the same amount of rainfall, and the grass is starting to dry out, the brush is starting to dry out, and as a result, it is burning."

Berlant says dead trees due to the drought and bark beetles are keeping fire risk high even in wetter areas. Over 29 million trees have died from those factors in the state.

The agency brought on more than 400 temporary firefighters to start the season.