February 21, 2008

Last year on February 10th 360 fires burned 16,000 acres throughout the state. It's what has sparked the Department of Forestry to have firefighters more prepared this year for wildfires.

"With wildland firefighting we're dealing with a fire that's moving, so we're learning the tactics and the strategy and the safety of course of how to fight that kind of fire," said David Stone of the Department of Forestry.

Forestry officials say unlike structure fires, there are a lot more factors firefighters have to think about when fighting a brush fire.

"Moving fires, like extremely dangerous. You have to be aware of the weather, the topography, the fuels you're dealing with, how low is the relative humidity. how is a fire going to change when it reaches a hill," said Stone.

A concern, especially for this time of year.

"This is the time of year when everything is very dry, the winds are usually fairly high, the relative humidity is very very low, so if a fire gets going it gets going pretty good," said Stone.

Stone says the field training is invaluable.

"When a bad event happens, you go back to your training," said Stone.

So that if a day like February 10th ever takes place again.

"We're hoping that if something ever does happen, they just remember that they learned it here," said Stone.

The results are not nearly as devastating.