PLACER COUNTY – This year's wildfire season in California is causing some officials concern after last year saw unusually little fire activity.

According to Cal Fire, conditions are trending in the wrong direction as the summer season progresses.

“This sharp decline takes us back to what I would call an average to above-average fire season in California,” said Brian Estes, chief of the California Fire Department.

So far, there have been an above-average number of fast-spreading bushfires. Estes says this is mainly due to dry grass and vegetation.

“In the last seven days, we have fought 19 fires in the unit,” said Chief Estes.

Chief Estes said preparations need to be made for an above-average season during peak fire season.

“It will take until September and possibly October for the forest and dense bush to really become receptive,” he said.

The season comes amid ongoing efforts to reduce fuel use in our forests across the state.

Thanks to state and federal funding, the California Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force is working to burn up to 400,000 acres annually by next year. This is part of a broader goal to treat 1 million acres annually in California.

However, this requires a lot of manpower and there is only a limited time of the year when the teams can burn safely.

“While I think it's an achievable goal that we can achieve one day, it may be difficult to achieve by 2025,” said Matt Dias, CEO of the California Forestry Association.

Cal Fire has burned tens of thousands of acres so far this year, and the U.S. Forest Service announced this week that the number of fires is nearly 64,000 acres.