SAN DIEGO (CNS) - Remember to set your clocks back an hour tonight -- and check those smoke alarm batteries.
Like 47 other states, California will "fall back'' an hour at 2 a.m. Sunday when daylight-saving time ends and the state returns to Pacific Standard Time. Only Arizona and Hawaii don't take part in the switchover.
Fire officials urged people to use the semi-annual clock changing exercise to also replace batteries for smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, as well as emergency flashlights. The battery-changing ritual should include checking that the device has not passed an expiration date, and clearing dust from slots or sensors.
According to the National Fire Protection Association, nearly 3,000 people die in U.S. home fires each year and smoke alarms cut the risk of fatality in a home fire by one-half.
Daylight-saving time will resume on March 9, 2014.
