EDITORIAL: Being prepared as fire season gets longer
-- Firefighters battling walls of flames as they try to save entire communities.
-- Families gathering photo albums and personal papers, then driving away knowing their homes may not be standing when they return.
-- People surveying the damage once the fire has passed.
-- And, all too often, lives cut tragically short -- people who couldn't away and firefighters killed in the line of duty.
This grim sequence is increasingly common as
Since 2012, not a single month has passed without a wildland fire somewhere in the state.
So far this year,
That's still only part of the picture.
"The entire northern part of the state has been besieged by fire for about a month now,"
This past week has seen fires spreading across
Hot weather, dry fuel -- created in abundance by
With climate change bringing higher temperatures and longer hot spells -- meaning even more dry fuel -- fire seasons is becoming a year-round reality.
Firefighting agencies are adapting to the "new normal," moving crews and equipment into areas when weather conditions raise the risk of wildfire to the highest levels. They're also dealing with fatigue as firefighters hustle from one disaster to the next, sometimes without any respite.
"It's a situation where we just have to keep going,"
There are things we -- the public -- can do to help Mattson and his fellow firefighters.
Install fire-safe landscaping, maintain a defensible space around your home, and be prepared to evacuate quickly. Fire Safe Sonoma, a local nonprofit organization, has a downloadable guide as its website, firesafesonoma.org.
Also, remember these lessons from
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