The state drought is said to be over, but the threat of wildfire in Marin has just begun.

That’s why fire officials across the county are asking residents to prepare for the coming dry months.

“We’re not crying wolf,” Marin County fire Chief Jason Weber said. “Creating a defensible space around your home is critical.”

Although the county and much of California received record rain totals over the winter, Weber said that on June 1 the Marin County Fire Department will welcome its usual 65 seasonal firefighters from California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire, to help out during the dry season.

“In California, we are in a Mediterranean climate,” Weber said. “By June our lighter grasses will be grown out and dried, and subsequently, it will feed into heavier fuels which carry fire well.”

What residents can do now is to “start looking at your evacuation routes and cut back vegetation overhanging onto roadways to make sure emergency vehicles can get through,” said Christie Neill, a Marin County fire battalion chief.

Neill is president of FireSafe Marin, the head of the county’s vegetation management program and a leader in developing the newly updated wildfire protection plan.

She said defensible space inspectors have been working in the Woodacre area this month to help residents prepare for the dry season.

There are approximately 69,000 Marin homes within the wildland-urban interface, the highest risk zone, where residents are surrounded by vegetation.

Novato fire Chief Mark Heine said the fire district has already held a community preparedness day at the Marin Valley Mobile Country Club for the same reasons.

“We need our neighbors to work together,” he said, noting that the district is working toward certifying Novato neighborhoods as “Fire Wise Communities,” a designation earned when a neighborhood prepares a plan and ongoing support for fire prevention. Pacheco Valle recently received the designation, he said.

The county is no stranger to devastating fires. The Mount Vision Fire of 1995, for instance, torched 12,000 acres in the Point Reyes National Seashore, destroyed 45 homes and cost $6.2 million to suppress.

The dry season in Marin generally begins toward the end of spring and lasts through the end of October.

Prolific diseases such as the pine pitch canker disease and sudden oak death have killed many trees in the Point Reyes National Seashore and on Mount Tamalpais. The dead trees contribute to the fire risk.

In San Rafael, Jason Hatfield, a battalion chief and training officer, said vegetation fires present unique challenges. San Rafael crews are busy training for the season and will be working with residents in the wildland-urban interface skirting the city to clear dried and dead vegetation.

“Trees and dry materials in close vicinity to buildings quickly become problematic under fire conditions,” he said. “Our goal is to work with the community before the fire occurs so that their homes are defensible and their escape routes are clear.”

On May 20, Mill Valley and Southern Marin firefighters will team up with Mill Valley police and Marin County Sheriff’s Office to hold a city evacuation drill for THE Homestead Valley and Edgewood neighborhoods.

Battalion Chief Michael St. John, who is leading the training for the drill, said there’s a big focus on evacuation in the Southern Marin region because “two-thirds of the area is described as urban-wildland interface, and we have lots of narrow, winding roads.”

“the ability to get out is key,” he said.

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. has teamed up with several fire-safe councils across its service area and last week announced a $99,000 donation to FireSafe Marin to fund four projects that target combustible vegetation along evacuation routes. The money will support projects to clear vegetation from evacuation routes in Larkspur, Corte Madera, Mill Valley and Southern Marin County, said Deanna Contreras, a PG&E spokeswoman.

FireSafe Marin coordinator Todd Lando said “PG&E has been a huge partner” in supporting the coalition’s effort.

“We’re going to be able to get a lot of work done over this summer,” he said. “These are some great projects.”

More information is at firesafemarin.org, marincountyfire.org and readymarin.org.