SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — The heavy winter rains this past winter have turned into a huge weed problem for the City of San Diego and crews are working non stop to knock them back to keep fires from breaking out.
Rebecca Boorhees is a supervisor on a crew with the Urban Corps.
"There are a lot of weeds around San Diego from all the rain we saw this winter so the chance of a fire getting big is out there," she said.
Urban Corps and city crews are working together to reduce potential for fire.
"All it takes is a spark or a cigarette and a fire could get going easily. Then it would move into the surrounding homes and that would be a disaster," said Boorhees. "There are six crews working around the city non-stop."
At the same time, the same thing should be happening in the urban wildland interface.
Monica Munoz is the public information officer for the San Diego Fire & Rescue Department.
"You should have a defensible space which is 100 feet from your property. It's important. It gives firefighters time. It allows the firefighters a space to work in," she said.
The problem firefighters deal with is clearing things from around the home.
"It's really important. A lot of times people will stack firewood next to their home and all it takes is for a spark to fall in there and a fire will start," said Munoz. "You should do everything you can to hold up your end of the bargain."
Now is the time to get ahead of the fire season.