Heading into a hot holiday weekend, state fire officials are worried about abundant dry brush that has exploded across the state after months of historic winter storms earlier this year and how it may affect this year's fire season.

Come Wednesday, fireworks stands will open up in a declining handful of Bay Area towns that still allow the tamest, but still dangerous, fireworks available. Knowing how, when and where to use them is critical and could be very expensive.

A Mariposa man was charged Tuesday afternoon with setting the Oak Fire that burned nearly 20,000 acres and destroyed 127 homes last summer near Yosemite National Park, in what authorities described as the most devastating blaze in the county’s history.   

Firefighters continue work on a 103-acre wildfire near Napa County's Berryessa Estates as a windy forecast causes concern.