Safety first — still

The skies above Butte County are finally clear (well, as clear as they get in the summer without smog-soaking rain). The Butte Lightning Complex fires all have been contained, and only the laziest homeowners haven’t washed the ash from their properties.

The reminders remain, though. Anyone driving up the Skyway, Neal Road and highways 32, 70 and 191 can’t miss the scorched earth from the Humboldt, Concow and the rest of the June-July blazes.

We can’t get complacent now and assume the worst is behind us, that we’ve gotten our share. It just takes a rogue spark or careless person to trigger a wildfire, and there’s still plenty of dry acreage to burn.

The Butte County Fire Safe Council will hold a workshop next Thursday (Aug. 7) from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at the CMA Church in Paradise. We encourage even those who live below the Ridge to attend, but if you can’t, check out Buttefiresafe.org or the Aug. 14 edition of the CN&R for the council’s guide to “living wildfire safe.”