Troubled season ahead: Worst fire conditions in SoCal in a century
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May 3, 2007 1427 PDT

California is facing the worst fire conditions in almost a century, and
worried fire officials are calling on the public to help be prepared.

Lack of rain and dry fuel conditions prompted the state's firefighting
agency to declare the start of fire season earlier than normal in 3 Southern
California counties - San Bernardino, Riverside and San Diego.

In San Diego, the fire chief held a news conference to sound a warning.

"In my 23 years of experience, I have never seen a fire danger this high,"
said Tracy Jarman.

She and other firefighters demonstrated the dry brush conditions at a
morning news conference at Marian Bear Memorial Park, putting a flare to a
pile of dry brush. It quickly burst into flames.

"We have some local concerns that we need to be aware of," Jarman said,
adding, "the canyon river bottom areas are thick with brush that hasn't
burned for years."

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