The tree die-off was so bad by 2015, when the U.S. That’s left a lot more fuel around when fires do start. Still, almost the entire state is abnormally dry, and a particularly dry autumn is part of what allowed strong downslope winds to spread fire so quickly in early November.ĭrought has also led to unprecedented tree mortality in California, largely because of the spread of bark beetle populations that thrived as trees weakened. While California experienced intense droughts throughout much of the 2000s, most of the state hasn’t technically been in a drought emergency, as declared by the governor, since April 2017.
That doesn’t mean all of it is in a drought, though. Their conclusion: Hot, wet springs are producing enough extra vegetation (i.e., potential fuel) that the state doesn’t actually need to get drier to burn more often. But, in 2015, when researchers from the federal National Climatic Data Center (now part of the National Centers for Environmental Information) modeled fire risk over time and its relationship to expected climate change, they found the risk went up. Precipitation levels have been all over the place in California this century, and that state, like many places, is expected to get wetter as the climate changes. Precipitation also matters, and this year, California has gotten less than usual.īut even if California had gotten more precipitation than usual, it’s no guarantee of a calm fire season.
FIRES IN CALIFORNIA FULL
(This year, winter in Southern California ended a full two weeks earlier than average.) That, in turn, produces even more plant material for the abnormally hot summer weather to dry out later. Spring is coming earlier in California and across the United States, which means a longer, balmier growing season. But the relationship between hotter days and bigger fires isn’t just about temperature - it’s also about when in the year the hotter days happen. Drier plants equals better kindling, which equals bigger, hotter fires.
Most obviously, hotter temperatures dry out the plants that fuel fires. Rising temperatures affect fires in a variety of ways. Here’s a look at how some of these factors have raised the fire risk in California.įirst, it’s hot, even by California standards. Those changes include drought, higher-than-average temperatures and population growth near wilderness areas, all of which have created favorable fire conditions, exacerbated the blazes and made them more costly. But the fires this season have grown to be big and destructive because a confluence of environmental changes, several related to climate change, have made the state more vulnerable. There are other fires currently burning, as well.įires aren’t rare in California, and no one thing causes them. And these fires are just two of the latest in a year when at least 1.6 million acres in the state have burned. The Woolsey Fire, near Malibu in the south, has blazed through another 98,000 acres, killing three people. It’s not the only major fire in California, either. The fire has burned through 142,000 acres as of Friday morning, just eight days after it began. The death toll, currently at 63, is expected to grow - more than 600 people are currently reported missing. local time Monday.The Camp Fire in Northern California has already been the most lethal and most destructive in state history, and it continues to burn. Roads were briefly closed, and fire officials carried out some evacuations before the blaze was nearly 90% contained by 6:30 p.m.
In Amador County, near where the long-burning Caldor Fire is, the Lawrence Fire, that started Sunday, engulfed 46 acres by Monday, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire, reported. Over the weekend, at least three other fires started. Images and videos shared on Twitter show firefighters battling smoke and flames on glowing hillsides along the side of the road. Fire engines and emergency personnel gathered in the Healdsburg area and responded quickly to as many as 15 new blazes, McGuire told the San Francisco Chronicle.įirefighters were able to stop most of the forward progress on multiple fires in the area overnight, he said. local time that several "suspicious" fires started over the course of the evening. Officials warned residents in Sonoma County to remain vigilant after more than a dozen fires erupted late Monday. Firefighters from the Cosumnes Fire Department carry water hoses last week while holding a fire line to keep the Caldor Fire from spreading in South Lake Tahoe, Calif.Īs California battles wildfires throughout the state, a new crop of suspicious fires that erupted over Labor Day weekend added to an already busy wildfire season.
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