Fire season is well underway in Southern California, earlier than usual

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The typical fire season is still two months away, but firefighters are already battling large fires across California. 

Riverside's Summit Fire kicked off the fire season in Southern California on Wednesday, burning down one house and leaving two firefighters injured.  Today, additional fires are blazing through Camarillo, Thousand Oaks, and Ventura, forcing evacuations for residents and students at Cal State Channel Islands.

"Normally in the sumer, Southern California is dry," said Rodger Lamoni of the National Weather Service.  "So our chances of precipitation that would that would really make a difference in the wildlife vegetation is very very low.  So the latest potential outlook from the Bureau of Land Management for the western states is basically above average."

Winds, a dry winter, and warm conditions are brewing up the perfect storm.

Glenn Barley of Cal Fire says this could be a dangerous fire season.

"The conditions are there for more fires or larger fires," said Barley.  "Again we just have to wait and see when we get starts and where they're at and how quickly we can get on them.  Obviously our goal is to hit them hard and early and keep them small."

Barley and Lamoni recommend being cautious of anything that could start a fire, and to remove brush and weeds from around homes and buildings.