A lack of snowfall this past winter has California fire officials bracing for a potentially intense fire season, reports CalMatters’ Rachel Becker.

State engineers conducted the annual April 1 snowpack measurement Wednesday, at Phillips Station south of Lake Tahoe. They reported that California’s snowpack at the end of the season was just 18 percent of average statewide. In the northern mountains, which supply California’s major reservoirs, the snowpack was an even more paltry 6 percent of average.

The bleak numbers mark the second-worst snowpack on record, despite that in January, the U.S. Drought Monitor reported that the state was completely drought free — a first in 25 years. Much of the precipitation to date, however, has been due to rain rather than snow, and last month’s heatwave melted most of the remaining snow.

Experts warn that the poor showing of snow could bring about an early fire season in the mountains. Jim Drennan, the fire chief for South Lake Tahoe, said fire agencies in the Tahoe basin can begin clearing fuels from forest areas.

Drennan: “It’s pretty bizarre up here right now. It really seems like June conditions more than March. People are already turning the sprinklers on for their lawns.”

Martin Goldberg, the battalion chief and fuels management officer for the Lake Valley Fire Protection District, also urged residents to take precautionary measures to prevent fires.

Homeowners can protect their homes by surveying their yards for flammable materials, such as firewood, wooden fences and even lawn furniture piled up on the side of houses. Homeowners can also create defensible spaces that act as a buffer between their property and the surrounding wildland.