Unless Mother Nature steps in, much of Ventura County is weeks from setting a milestone few are celebrating: driest year on record.

Rainfall records show that from Oct. 1, 2006, to the end of August, only 4.04 inches fell in Simi Valley, the lowest precipitation level since recordkeeping started there in the 1940s.

Ojai, Santa Paula, Camarillo, Moorpark, Thousand Oaks, Fillmore and Piru are all on pace to set all-time records, according to rainfall totals tracked by the Ventura County Watershed Protection District.

"Records are made to be broken," district hydrologist David Panaro said, "but this is not one we will be throwing a party for."

Although water officials are urging conservation, they say the area's water supply is safe for now.

While area groundwater levels are dropping, imported water supplies and replenishment efforts have made up the difference.

"We feel supplies are in good shape for 2007," said Donald Kendall, general manager of the Calleguas Municipal Water District, which provides water to most households east and south of the Santa Clara River. "We haven't felt the dryness as bad as some other areas of the state."

Firefighters around the county, however, are bracing for a potentially disastrous fall as already dry wilderness areas become increasingly parched and the annual Santa Ana winds start to arrive.

The unrelenting dry conditions have sapped moisture from plants in hillsides and canyons, making them far more susceptible than normal to fire. Recent studies of brush and grasslands by the Ventura County Fire Department found the moisture levels in plants are "at critically low levels," County Fire Capt. Barry Parker said, and that doesn't count the large amount of brush that has already died or been charred.

"We are seeing conditions now that we typically wouldn't see it until we get the Santa Anas," Parker said.

When the rain does arrive, hydrologists caution that high- intensity storms could trigger flooding. The lack of rain stunted new growth in vast barren swaths of Los Padres National Forest and the Sespe Creek watershed that were charred during last year's Day fire.

"We have had very little recovery due to the lack of rainfall," said Scott Holder, a Watershed Protection District hydrologist.

While the heat wave that engulfed much of Southern California this Labor Day weekend is expected to dissipate, weather forecasters project fall will continue to be more dry than normal, extending into December and possibly even January.

"The pattern is setting up with more storms in the Pacific Northwest, with Southern California being left high and dry," Holder said.

Area water agencies are calling on residents and businesses to voluntarily cut back on their water usage.

"People should think about every drop they use," said Dana Wisehart, general manager of United Water Conservation District. A lot of overuse is on lawn irrigation and personal gardens, she said. "You don't need as much water as you think you do to keep your yards looking good."

There are many ways to conserve water: Take shorter showers, install "smart" sprinkler systems, stop using toilets as trash cans and fix leaky pipes.

The Ventura County water year runs from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30, and much of the data is collected via automated rain gauges that send a radio transmission when enough rain has fallen to "tip" the bucket.

That hasn't happened in months, and this is second year of drought conditions, Panaro said.

Following Simi Valley's 4.04 inches of rain for the season is Thousand Oaks with 4.40 inches; Moorpark, 4.74 inches, and Piru, 4.84 inches.

West Ventura County, which depends primarily on the annual amount of local rainfall for its water, has seen slightly more precipitation, but far below normal. Ojai had 6.58 inches, the lowest level since records started to be collected in 1906. In contrast, Ojai had nearly 50 inches of rain in the wet water year of 1997-98.

The California State Water Project, a network of reservoirs, aqueducts, and pumping facilities that conveys water from the northern California Sierra to central and southern California, is the leading source of water for the east county.

Because of low rainfall in the north, and the possibility of reduced pumping of water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to protect endangered fish, authorities caution that a drought management plan may be accelerated. Some Ventura County growers have already been notified they could have less access to water next year.

The United Water Conservation district started releasing water from Lake Piru in early August to replenish a large well field under a district facility in El Rio. The district will continue releasing water until October, Wisehart said.

Across the county, the demand for water has increased, and in some areas the seasonal demand has peaked earlier than usual because of the dry conditions.

"We ask everyone to be prudent with their water," Kendall said. "An acre-foot we conserve today is water we have for next year."