Friday was warm across the Bay Area on Friday, but Saturday will be even hotter.
And anytime the weather heats up, the risk of wildfires increases.
This week, crews worked on several fires across Contra Costa County, and they are getting ready for what could be a long hot fire season.
Following a month of cool temperatures, June has arrived sunny, warm, and windy across the Bay Area.
“Typically what happens at the end of May is everything turns golden amber at the end of May and that’s what has happened,” Contra Costa County Fire Marshall Robert Marshall said.
Marshall says that in preparation for the summer months, the district is about to kick off its annual weed abatement program, hoping to clear out potential fire hazards.
“Starting on Monday, we will have inspectors going out looking at the hillsides and looking at empty lots,” Marshall said.
Marshall says that the district is well staffed this year and prepared to respond quickly to any problems, as they did with the fires near Byron this week.
His fear is that too many fires will pop up all at once.
“What we hope doesn’t happen is a bunch of fires happened in a bunch of places and draw down everyone’s resources because that’s when we get nervous,” Marshall said.
With the arrival of warm weather, the fire district is also asking the public to help out by reporting any problems.
“Keep your eyes open. Things, we certainly recommend,” Marshall said.
Marshall also recommended cleaning out rain gutters that might be filled with leaves and branches from the recent windy weather.