The San Jose Fire Department is getting an early jump on the upcoming fire season.
Hundreds of firefighters wrapped up "wild land" fire training on Friday, a month ahead of schedule.
The department's 650 or so firefighters usually go through special wild land training, or re-training, in mid-May. This year's training was ramped up ahead of schedule because of California's historic drought and to coincide with Cal Fire's accelerated hiring and training of its seasonal firefighters.
SJDF said the re-training will boost readiness, but emphasize there are so-called "brush patrols" ready year round.
