Californians are once again thinking about the familiar perils of deadly wildfires as high temperatures and winds have made for an active early fire season.
In recent weeks, more than 3,500 wildfires have erupted across California, the nation’s most populous state, from its northern boundary with Oregon to the Mexican border. Tens of thousands of people have had to flee their homes, including most residents in the city of Oroville last week.
After two relatively calm fire years, Californians fear that the blazes will be more intense this summer and fall, threatening towns and polluting the air with smoke up and down the West Coast. Here’s what to know.
What’s the latest on the most intense fires?
On Friday, the Lake fire started in the grassy hills of the Los Padres National Forest, about 50 miles northwest of Santa Barbara. In mere days, it has burned almost 29,000 acres and has become the state’s largest wildfire so far this year, according to Cal Fire, the state’s firefighting agency.
The fire initially drew attention because it threatened the property formerly known as Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch. Firefighters made early progress controlling the fire line and keeping it away from the ranch and other properties in the hills, but strong winds have continued to push the blaze southeast.
Most of the fire has been in rural, rugged terrain, officials say, and it was 16 percent contained as of Wednesday. But it has still forced about 440 people to evacuate, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department, while more than 1,100 are under evacuation warnings.
The Lake fire remains several miles from the nearest town, Los Olivos, a local destination for foodies and oenophiles, and fire officials said that they were aggressively putting out hot spots that might threaten homes and businesses.
Another major fire that continues to grow is the Shelly fire in the far northern reaches of the state. It was spotted a week ago in a remote forest and has burned 8,285 acres so far, according to Cal Fire.
The unsparing heat and inaccessible terrain have helped the blaze spread quickly. It now threatens 4,274 buildings in nearby communities, as well as private timberlands and tribal lands.
One of the state’s most dangerous blazes so far was the Thompson fire, which last week forced 26,000 people to flee in and around the city of Oroville, Calif. The fire destroyed 26 structures before it was fully contained.
Why does this fire season seem so dangerous?
A number of factors are conspiring to make this fire season in the West one of the most perilous in several years — and it’s only just beginning.
California already has had more than 207,000 acres burn this year, more than 20 times what had burned by this point last year, according to Cal Fire.
It may seem counterintuitive, but the huge amount of precipitation over the past two rainy seasons, which helped alleviate the state’s drought, may also have primed large parts of the state to burn.
The rain spurred the rapid growth of grasses, brush and other vegetation. Last year, rain continued through the spring and into the summer, which helped prevent the vegetation from completely drying out.
But in recent months, heat waves have broken temperature records in the West. That, experts say, has desiccated vast areas of wild lands and left brush as a carpet of crispy tinder.
The heat baking the West also makes it harder for firefighters to do their jobs. Imagine hiking through some of the most remote, mountainous territory in the country while hauling heavy gear to carve out fire lines, smoke filling the air and flames licking at one’s back. Now, imagine doing that when it’s already over 90 degrees outside.
Firefighters used to rely on cool nights in California to gain ground on wildfires, but the state has recently had unusually high temperatures during the overnight hours, complicating their efforts.
And, finally, health experts have increasingly sounded the alarm about how extreme temperatures and wildfire smoke can compound health risks, particularly for people who must work outside. In California, that includes farm workers in the Central Valley, which is shaped a bit like a giant bowl where heat and smoke settle in a stifling mix.
What has the state done?
Since 2020, when wildfires burned more acres than in any year in the recorded history of California, state officials have tried to demonstrate that they are investing in firefighting and preventative measures. Gov. Gavin Newsom has focused on how climate change is amplifying fires, droughts, heat waves and floods.
“Climate change is real,” he said on Wednesday, standing in a hangar full of firefighting aircraft. “If you don’t believe in science, then you have to believe your own eyes — the lived experience all of us have out here in the Western United States, and for that matter, all around the globe.”
He pointed out that state lawmakers had kept $2.6 billion in a tight state budget this year for wildfire prevention efforts, including the use of prescribed burns to thin wildfire fuel, a practice long used by Native American tribes in the region.
“We have a lot more work to do there — I can’t make up for the last 50 years,” he said, referring to decades in which official policies essentially forbade prescribed burning. “Over the last few years, we’ve been doing more than ever.”
Firefighting officials also highlighted efforts to quickly spot fires using artificial intelligence tied to a network of wildfire cameras, which leaders said had resulted in the early detection of fires, even before the first 911 calls.
What should residents do?
Officials have long pleaded with residents to heed evacuation orders — especially in remote communities where residents are accustomed to fending for themselves. Climate change has caused fires to burn hotter and spread more rapidly, so residents can become trapped. Staying behind endangers those residents as well as the firefighters who try to save them.
Residents have been urged to create an evacuation plan that includes learning all of the escape routes from their home, gathering an emergency supply kit and identifying the valuables that they would want to pack.
Cal Fire leaders pointed residents to their website, which contains information about how to clear “defensible space” around their homes by removing vegetation. Doing so can make residents eligible for insurance discounts and other benefits, as well as making their homes safer if a fire gets close.
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