– Press release from the U.S. Forest Service:

SACRAMENTO, July 8, 2013— The U.S. Forest Service and other land management agencies have a new fire safety campaign in California. The One Less Spark, One Less Wildfire campaign is designed to provide constant reminders during this fire season to reduce the numbers of human-caused vehicle and equipment wildfires throughout the state.

“All the stories we hear about sparks starting wildland fires are true, especially during this hot, dry summer,” said Joe Aragon, U.S. Forest Service Region 5 Interagency Fire Prevention Action Team coordinator. “With the low precipitation winter brought, conditions are ideal for fire starts. We’re here to coordinate with communities, agencies, organizations and schools to heighten awareness and ultimately protect the public from damaging fires in order to create more fire-adapted communities.”

The campaign features posters, bumper stickers, informational cards and public service announcements which give safety messages about equipment such as lawn mowers igniting fires, tow chains sparking fires along roadways, and safe handling of campfires.

Partner agencies include: The National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, CAL FIRE, Caltrans, California Department of Fish and Game, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Reclamation and many others.

Fire season in California has technically just begun, and already campfires have been blamed for 45 fires on national forest land. Thirteen fires have been sparked by equipment such as string trimmers, chain saws and mowers. An abandoned campfire started the 1,708 acre Carstens Fire on the Sierra National Forest near Yosemite, costing millions of dollars.

Human-caused fires are avoidable. For more information about fire prevention, go to www.fire.ca.gov