5 ways to track California’s wildfire season

Jun. 10--Ready or not, the wildfire season is upon us.

The Sand Fire, which started Saturday afternoon in Yolo County, had burned more than 2,200 acres as of Sunday evening and was 20% contained. Meanwhile, fire crews were dealing with a brush fire in South San Jose -- the blaze, which ignited Sunday and grew to 210 acres, was 85% contained as of Monday morning. In addition, firefighters battled a blaze Sunday that forced Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia to shut its gates.

Those are just the latest in what promises to be a steady stream of blazes nibbling away at the Golden State's bone-dry haunches.

Fortunately, there's a whole box full of tools to help you stay abreast of the breaking wildfire news already starting to bear down upon us. Here are a few:

Cal Fire

The website for California Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention, known as Cal Fire, is your first stop for getting information on wildfires in the state that crews are trying to either build a break around or stomp out completely. The Incident Information page offers a handy breakdown of each fire -- it includes the fire's name, the county it's located in, the nearest town, number of acres burned and percentage contained, along with evacuation information. Each fire will have a link to an evacuation map as well as the location of "information boards." For example, residents concerned about the Sand Fire currently burning in Yolo County can find the boards at the Boy Scout Camp on Yolo Avenue and the the Guinda Corner Store on Highway 16. Once the wildfire has been brought under complete control, the site will feature a "100% contained" note in red.

The site is full of other fire-related information, including blazes from past years, wildfire statistics, fire terminology and even information on obtaining burn permits.

PG&E

The often-scorned power utility, which filed for bankruptcy protection in January in the face of billions of dollars in claims tied to deadly wildfires, maintains a robust online presence as it grapples with the fallout from past fires and braces for even more. Through its Community Wildfire Safety Program, PG&E says it is "implementing additional precautionary measures to help reduce the risk of wildfires. If extreme fire danger conditions threaten a portion of the electric system serving your community, it may be necessary for us to turn off electricity in the interest of public safety." And this site contains the latest updates on PG&E's so-called "Public Safety Power Shutoffs." Links lead to current outage information where you can enter an address or search an interactive map to find out where service has been suspended and why. You also can sign up to receive email alerts on outages affecting your location.

Ready for Wildfire app

Launched by Cal Fire back in 2017, this handy smartphone app provides wildfire alerts after users sign up with their ZIP code and city. You can choose to have the alerts sent to you by text or push notification anytime Cal Fire crews are responding to or assisting at a wildfire in a specified area. User can also set up alerts for single counties, multiple counties or statewide. If you're on the road, the app lets you enable an alert system when a wildfire is reported within 30 miles of their device. There's more: The Ready for Wildfire app provides tips to help homeowners create defensible space around their homes as well as advice on fire-resistant construction. It can help you put together an emergency supply kit and set up a family communication and evacuation plan. There's even advice on what to wear if you're ever forced to flee an active wildfire. The free app is available on the Google Play and Apple App stores.

National Fire Protection Association

Check out this group's website if for no other reason than to dive into the more than 2,000-page glossary, including every possible fire-related term you can imagine -- and then some -- from "Abandoned Building" to "Zeroing." Just a cursory review of this recently updated list will help you think in new ways about the power of wildfires and the protecting life and property threatened by them.

Teaching kids about wildfires

Scores of online educational tools are available to help young people understand how wildfires start and spread, how firefighters work to control them, and how people of all ages can prepare themselves in the event of a fire threatening their home or community. One of the most comprehensive, not surprisingly, is Smokeybear.com.

The site has a complete "Educator's Guide" for students from kindergarten to second grade, including activity books, posters and a video called "A Day in the Forest With Smokey Bear." It's never too early to teach kids about backyard debris burning, or the use of machinery and the fire dangers things like a lawn mower can pose. It also provides links to the Forest Service's active incidents map, which shows wildfires currently burning around the United States.

Stats, Stats and more Stats

For the statistically obsessed, the Insurance Information Institute has enough wildfire numbers to make your head spin. The list includes states most prone to wildfires, yearly number of fires and acres burned and financial losses due to fires. There are also fire statistics specific to California.

Sign up for Alerts

To get the latest fire news, sign up for breaking-news alerts delivered to your inbox from the Mercury News and the East Bay Times.

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