LAGUNA BEACH – Fire officials in coastal south Orange County are on alert and focused on a fire season they say could be earlier and worse than in recent years.

The combination of five years of drought, two years of higher-than-average temperatures and a massive tree die-off – in the canyon areas and at UC Irvine – will result in a significant wildland fire potential for the remainder of the year, Laguna Beach Fire Chief Jeff LaTendress said in a recent report to the City Council.

LaTendress pointed to this week’s 800-acre blaze at Camp Pendleton and a 50-acre blaze at Laguna Coast Wilderness Park in late June.

“Southern California doesn’t usually have big fires until September through November,” he said. “Here we are in July and we’re seeing big fires. Normally, Northern California has fires like this at this time.”

Orange County Fire Authority Battalion Chief Dave Spencer said the agency will have extra personnel and an extra helicopter available for the weekend because of the anticipated high fire danger and the excess heat.

In October 1993, a firestorm raced across 14,337 acres and devoured 441 homes in Laguna Beach to become the most destructive blaze in county history. With that in the rear-view mirror, fire and city officials are leaving nothing to chance.

Laguna Beach fire will add a new, four-wheel drive brush engine to its arsenal in the next few weeks, making access in steeper terrain easier. Firefighters have participated in live wildland fire drills at Camp Pendleton and have been sent across the state to help with fires as part of a statewide mutual aid.

Communication among fire agencies countywide has been upgraded, LaTendress said. Mutual aid agreements with the Orange County Fire Authority are critical in handling large fires, he said.

In the recent Laguna Coast Wilderness Park fire, more than 120 firefighters from OCFA and other cities helped to put out the blaze.

Communication with the public is also vital and has been upgraded through social media, Nixle, Alert OC and live local radio broadcasts, LaTendress said.

Spencer credits Laguna Beach for its creative use of goats in rugged canyon terrain and steep hillsides to cut down the amount of vegetation that serves as fuel for fires. Laguna Beach is the only city in Orange County with the program.

A herd of 125 goats from the Indacochea Sheep Ranch in Wildomar are chomping their way through the city’s canyons, hillsides and fire roads. The program, started in North Laguna in 1992 in one fuel zone, has grown to 16 locations. Fire and city officials say it is the most efficient and cost-effective way to remove brush and vegetation in areas of the city with no easy access.

Thanks to the goats and city crews, vegetation has been removed from around 320 acres in 14 locations. An area at Nyes and Oro Canyon was recently added to the list and almost 500 parcels in Hobo Canyon were recently cleared of weeds and invasive plants.

“The Fire Department believes these zones are successful in creating defensible space allowing firefighters greater opportunity to protect lives and property,” LaTendresse said.

Berkeley and Oakland in Northern California have used goats, as well.

Cal Fire predicts that fires are most likely to occur in the coastal areas of Southern California and in the Sierra, which have 66 million dead and dying trees.

The record heat in 2014 and 2015 has made the drought even worse, LaTendress said. In the last five years rainfall has hovered around 6 inches – half of the normal amount.

Brush and vegetation in Orange County look more like what fire officials expect to see in September and October. The National Weather Service predicts average rainfall but greater Santa Ana wind conditions in the fall.

LaTendresse has suggested closing open-space parks, such as Laguna Coast Wilderness Park and Crystal Cove State Park, during red-flag days, when the potential for a fast-moving brush fire is extremely high.

“The fear is loss of life,” he said. “If we have to evacuate people, it’s not putting our best resources where they should be used. If lives are at risk, we have to shift our strategy to saving lives.”

Evacuation is tricky in Laguna Beach, where the only major routes out of town are Coast Highway and Laguna Canyon Road.

While it doesn’t have control over the highway, the city intends to make the canyon road safer by burying utility lines and looking at adding additional lanes. Not only can utility poles hinder evacuation, they can serve as a catalyst, LaTendress said.

Stacy Blackwood, director of OC Parks, said her agency in the past has discussed closing parks with the Laguna Beach officials but has not yet made a decision to do so.

“Local jurisdictions who have land management are all concerned about the threat of fire,” she said. “We try to evolve our strategies as we learn from other incidents up and down the coast. I don’t know that anyone can say what the right formula is.”

Blackwood said she plans to reconnect with LaTendress and City Manager John Pietig about the issue. She said she will also discuss it with Orange County Fire Authority and other fire agencies that have open space managed by OC Parks in their communities.

Contact the writer: 714-796-2254 or eritchie@ocregister.com or on Twitter:@lagunaini