Acreage destroyed by wildfires down across the state compared to 1 year ago, fire officials say

FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- A wet 2019 has helped to delay the peak fire season. When compared to a year ago, acreage destroyed by wildfires is down across the state.

"The rain was good because it kept everything wetter longer. That's why we didn't really have any fire activity this spring like we normally would see," said Fresno County Fire public information officer Seth Brown.

Officials say 4,500 fires statewide burned more than 620,000 acres at this time last year. Milder conditions in 2019 have contributed to just 28,000 thousand acres burned on 3,700 fires.

Because California was hit with high rain activity this year, most brush and larger trees have not had time yet to dry out and create concerns like they typically would for fire officials

"When a fire does start in the grass or brush it's burning it's just not burning as hot and as fast as we would normally see during this time of year," Brown said.

As temperatures cool off, fire officials want to remind residents in the foothill and mountain communities to not let their guard down with respect to wildfire safety.

Brown says the best way to protect your family is by keeping your property lean and green

"We want to make sure people are keeping all their branches and pine needles off their roof," Brown said. "Make sure their chimneys are clear and make sure there's no woodpiles stacked up next to their house. Grass and brush is cleaned up 100 feet from the structure."

For more information on how to keep your property fire ready, click here. You can also check out CAL FIRE's app.