Neighborhood groups are joining forces with Santa Cruz Fire to protect homes from possible wildland fires. Those communities saw what happened during last year's CZU fire. Now, they're becoming more proactive to prevent it from happening to them."It scares me! You know how I feel. It scares me! " said Lora Lee Martin.Martin is one of many people living in the Prospect Heights area of Santa Cruz. Her neighborhood is a Firewise community. Started a couple of years ago, the designation means they are certified to work together and take action to protect their homes in case of a wildfire."These fires are coming and they're coming differently and I think their training, I'm not a fire professional but the training needs to identify a different kind of fire."To help prepare for what firefighters warn will be a busy fire season, crews are working to clear eucalyptus trees and other shrubs along DeLaveaga upper and lower parks. Reducing the fire’s fuel, gives firefighters a better chance of stopping a wildfire before it spreads."Especially around the residential parts of the city to provide a shaded fuel break, when a fire starts it keeps it in check so our crews can come in and suppress it quickly," said Santa Cruz Division Chief and Fire Marshal, Robert Oatey. Fire crews are also re-familiarizing themselves with equipment and tactics."We tell firefighters like you said, to expect the unexpected because there are things you have not seen before that we have not seen as people that have been around for a while," said Santa Cruz Division Chief of Operations, Rob Young.Recently, Santa Cruz Fire purchased a $426,000 engine. Its sole purpose is to fight wildland fires, but residents have to do their part as well, by preparing defensible space and being ready to evacuate"Being vigilant about watching the news. We've signed up for all of our code red alerts and all of those things, so we're ready to go if we get a notification" said, Kristen Faris of Prospect Heights.Typically fire crews don't begin staffing up until mid-June, but they are approaching peak personnel levels right now.