Fire season began Monday, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, meaning all burn permits are suspended.

Fire departments respond to fire season by hiring seasonal firefighters, increasing dispatch levels and operating fire response facilities around the clock.

Agriculture, land management, fire training and other industrial-type burning may proceed if a CAL FIRE official inspects the burn site and issues a special permit. Campfires will be allowed in designated campgrounds or in established facilities on private property, with permission of the jurisdictional authority.

Experience has shown that suspending open burning is an effective way to prevent fires from escaping, especially with the onset of the summer season of hotter and drier weather, fire officials said. Temperatures are forecasted to reach nearly 100 degrees this week.

Last year alone, 10 people were killed, hundreds of thousands of people evacuated, more than 518,000 acres of land burned and more than 3,000 homes and other buildings destroyed by California wildfires.

CAL FIRE recommends several safety tips to prevent wildfires:

■ use lawn mowers, weed eaters, chain saws, etc. before 10 a.m. when vegetation still retains some of the previous night's moisture.

■ only use lawn mowers for lawns, not dry vegetation.

■ have an escape plan ready for you, your pets and your valuables in case an approaching wildfire requires you to evacuate your home.

visit www.fire.ca.gov for more tips

Changes coming to VTA board

Recent changes to how the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority's board members are appointed are aimed to provide more knowledgeable and experienced board members to represent the smaller cities, like Morgan Hill and Gilroy.

Board member Greg Sellers led the change, which was voted on and approved May 1. 

There are 12 voting seats on the VTA's board of directors, split up by city. San Jose, the biggest city in Santa Clara County, has five seats. The smaller cities are split up into three groups, with Morgan Hill, Gilroy and Milpitas making up one group. Each group has one voting member and two county officials fill the remaining two seats.

Seats have been filled by city officials within a group deciding who would be the next representative, rotating on a city-by-city basis each year.

The county seats don't rotate, and therefore county representatives generally have longer tenure than the rest of the members. San Jose also doesn't have rotating seats.

County Supervisor Don Gage, former mayor of Gilroy, said it's a handicap for small cities.

"Newer members don't understand the history of things and tend to ask a lot of questions. You have to educate them, the meetings are longer. We get the business done, but it's not always pleasant."