SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — The increasing fire danger due to continued drought and hotter, drier conditions in the region has prompted Cal Fire to suspend all burn permits for outdoor residential burning within Alpine, Amador, El Dorado, Sacramento, and San Joaquin counties, officials announced Thursday morning.

The suspension takes effect at midnight on Monday, May 23, and bans all residential outdoor burning of landscape debris such as branches and leaves.

“We are experiencing drought conditions and extreme fire weather much earlier than usual for this time of year,” said Cal Fire Amador-El Dorado Unit Chief Mike Blankenheim. “Although debris burning is useful to reduce flammable vegetation, the conditions in the Amador-El Dorado Unit have reached the point where debris burning poses an unacceptable risk of starting a wildfire.”

Here are some tips to help prepare homes and property:

— Clear all dead and or dying vegetation 100 feet from around all structures.

— Landscape with fire resistant plants and non-flammable ground cover.

— Find alternative ways to dispose of landscape debris like chipping or hauling it to a biomass energy or green waste facility.

For more information on how to create defensible space, how to be prepared for wildfires, as well as tips to prevent wildfires, visit http://www.ReadyForWildfire.org.