Identity theft, it seems, is becoming more and more common with the use of online applications. But hardcopy documents are still a go-to for identity thieves.

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AUBURN, Calif. - Cal Fire is warning of what may be a very long and very difficult fire season ahead.

"Over the next couple of months almost all of Northern California's gonna be at an above average potential for large and damaging wildfires," said Cal Fire spokesman Daniel Berlant.

The state has already seen 950 fires, triple the number in an average year. And the state is in the grip of the worst drought in recorded history.

"A lot of the green hillsides up and down the state are really just masking the dead grass that's been sitting there all winter long," Berlant points out.

At the Cal Fire station in Auburn, seasonal firefighters have been in place since the end of January, nearly three months earlier than usual.

MODESTO, Calif. (AP) - A former Modesto police officer initially charged with sexual assault after being accused of forcing a prostitute to have sex with him while on duty has avoided any additional jail time after reaching a plea deal with prosecutors.  

The Modesto Bee reports that after pleading no contest to misdemeanor counts of soliciting prostitution and petty theft for having sex with the 37-year-old woman while on duty, Lee Freddie Gaines II on Friday was sentenced to time served.  

He'll also be on probation for 30 days and will have to pay the city $32.57 in restitution for taking an hour of his work time while having sex with the woman.  

Prosecutors say they dropped the sexual assault charges because there was insufficient evidence and the woman - who has admitted to working as a prostitute - changed her version of the events.  

Gaines has said the sex was consensual.