Vancouver city officials are urging residents to water their lawns, “don’t do stupid stuff” and clear debris away from homes to reduce the risk of a blaze after months of drought.

Unlike many other communities across the region that are encouraging water conservation, Vancouver doesn’t have a water shortage, City Manager Eric Holmes told the city council on Monday. Residents should try to keep their vegetation green because it will suppress fires, he said.

“Vancouver is in the luxurious position of having a tremendous water supply. We do not need to conserve,” Holmes said. “So if folks are choosing not to water their lawns or allowing things to go brown because they think there’s a water supply problem, that is not the case in Vancouver.”

It’s been a challenging summer for the Vancouver Fire Department, Fire Chief Joe Molina told the council.

“It’s more activity than I’ve seen in recent years,” he said Monday. “We just haven’t had this many fires this close together as we have in the last two weeks.”