Update on the California Drought – August 4, 2015 - california fires not under control list and map - California's Devastating Fire Season Is the New Normal
2015 has been an above-average year for wildfires in California, as the state continues to bake in an unprecedented drought. Last week Gov. Jerry Brown described his state as a "tinderbox" and declared a state of emergency. Back in the spring, conditions for wildfires were already so bad that fire ecologists were predicting a "disaster" fire season.
Summer has proved them right—to an extent. Since the beginning of the year, the number of acres burned has topped 100,000, more than twice the average of the past five years and more than burned in all of 2014. So the wildfire situation is indeed dire. But federal records show that it actually isn't too far above the longer-term average. In other words, thanks in part to global warming, nasty fire seasons are just par for the course in California these days.
"Absolutely the drought is the biggest factor," said Daniel Berlant, a spokesperson for Cal Fire, the state's wildland firefighting agency. "Our vegetation hasn't received enough water to resist wildfires. All it takes is one little spark." (For an explanation of how climate change worsens wildfire conditions, check out the video at the bottom of this post.)
The moisture content of dead "fuel" (trees, shrubs, grasses) has been below average for most of the year across nearly the whole state, according to federal data, in a few cases dropping to the lower levels than at any time in the three decades since record-keeping began. Jeremy Sullens, a predictive wildfire analyst at the National Interagency Fire Center (a federal agency that coordinates firefighting efforts), said that there is also more fuel than normal on the ground this year. The long-term drought has caused more trees than normal to die, while at the same time a smattering of spring rain grew a fat crop of grass, he said. Those two factors combined are a perfect recipe for wildfires.
http://www.californiadrought.org/drought/current-conditions/
http://cdfdata.fire.ca.gov/incidents/incidents_current
http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2015/08/california-deadly-tinderboxa