Early alert for forest - Dry winter poses wildfire risk

Earlier this month, officials celebrated cutting down the one millionth bug-killed tree in the San Bernardino National Forest.

It was a moment of understandable celebration because of the vast scope of the work: Trees had been dying at a high rate over the past decade, filling the overgrown forest with what are essentially standing matchsticks ready to explode.

For more than three years, dead and ailing trees have been coming down at a rate of 750 per day, boosted by a $70million grant from the federal government.

But as the sun shined brightly on another uncommonly warm March afternoon, the circumstances of that day's weather caused some concern.

'Normally, firefighters would be packing sandbags right now,' said David Stuart, a mountain resident and leader of the nonprofit group Rebuilding Mountain Hearts & Minds, which was born out of the devastating 2003 Old Fire that destroyed nearly 1,000 homes. 'Instead, they are filling up their pumper engines.'

There's been little reason to make sandbags for residents to place around their homes for protection against heavy rainfall.

People used to talk about the region's fire season.

Traditionally"