With Southern California's rainy season winding down, Cal Fire crews are shifting focus to wildfire prevention — including the deployment of robotic technology in East County designed to reduce dangerous brush buildup before temperatures climb and fire risk spikes.

The tool is called the Flailbot, a remote-controlled machine used to clear heavy brush across terrain that conventional equipment cannot safely access. Cal Fire acquired the device in 2023 through its Community Risk Reduction Bureau, and crews are now putting it to work during the current window of lower fire risk.

"It alleviates and helps us access little tough terrain where other machinery might not make it," said Cal Fire Captain Oscar Sotelo. "Technology like the Flailbot allows firefighters to work smarter and safer while protecting lives, property, and natural resources. This tool helps us reduce wildfire risk before a fire starts."

Sotelo noted that while the recent stretch of rain has temporarily reduced fire risk to the moderate tier, that window is closing. "Once we get those changes in weather and the increased temperatures, the fuel moisture starts to come down," he said.

Fire season in San Diego County is effectively year-round — a reality East County residents know well, given the region's history of devastating fires fueled by dry brush and Santa Ana winds. The Flailbot is designed to create fuel breaks in steep, hard-to-reach corridors that often serve as fire pathways toward neighborhoods.

Homeowners in Santee and surrounding East County communities are encouraged to use the current period of moderate fire risk to clear defensible space around their own properties. Cal Fire's defensible space guidelines are available at fire.ca.gov/dspace.