Not too late for fire prevention

With the most dangerous part of fire season approaching, county and fire officials remind people they can help defend themselves by clearing or cutting back weeds, dead and dying trees and potentially combustible shrubs and vegetation around their homes.

Despite the devastating 2003 and 2007 firestorms, much of the county remains cloaked in vegetation that hasn’t burned in decades and could become fuel for new fires.

A map created by the county and Forest Area Safety Task Force, a collection of more than 80 federal, state and local agencies, shows several unburned areas. They include parts of...