Two dozen people are dead, hundreds more are reported missing and thousands of homes are destroyed as wildfires sweep through wine country in California. Here in North Carolina, wildfire season begins in just a couple weeks and firefighters in the Triad say what's happening on the West Coast can happen anywhere.
It's still not clear what caused the Atlas Fire to tear through California, but according to Carson, humans are to blame for nine out of 10 wildfires. That means almost all of them are preventable.
If you're going to burn leaves or anything else in your yard, first find out if you need a permit to burn. You can check your county's website or call your local fire department for that information.
Never leave a fire unattended and don't toss out lit cigarettes on the ground or while driving; it really can cause roadside fires.