This story is original appears above Highland news and be a part of Climate table cooperation.
In Southern California, December wildfires are somewhat rare but not entirely unusual. And this year, extremely dry conditions and strong Santa Ana winds have created the perfect recipe for dangerous fires later in the year.
On the night of December 9, Franklin Fire glittering in the hills above Malibu, tornh about 3,000 acres in just 24 hours. As of midday on December 12, the fire was less than 10% contained, burned more than 4,000 acres and destroyed at least seven structures.
Last month, mountain fire burned under similar conditions in nearby Ventura County, growing to 1,000 acres in the first hour. Within two days, the area had grown to more than 20,000 acres; 240 structures were destroyed before firefighters stopped it in early December.
And it hasn't rained yet – not since the mountain fire, nor throughout the fall.
It's true that the Santa Ana winds—dry winds that blow from the high desert to the coast and bring low humidity, sometimes below 10 percent—regularly increase in the fall and winter. But what's less normal is the lack of rainfall grip Southern California right now, even though the region isn't technically in dire straits drought Not yet.
A weather station in downtown Los Angeles has record There was only 5.7 inches of rain this year and not even a quarter of an inch fell in December, typically the middle of the region's rainy season. At this time, most years there will be three or more wet days, enough to limit some wildfire risk; about 90% of the region's rainfall arrive mid-October and late April.
“We are still waiting for the rainy season to begin in that part of the state, which will meaningfully wet the fuel and extinguish the major fire threat,” said John Abatzoglouprofessor of climatology at the University of California, Merced.
In wetter, windy years there is a lower risk of fire. But now, “when fire and wind collided,” as Abatzoglou put it, the scene looked like it was about to burst into flames. Dry grass and bushes are ready to burn, and dangerous fire forecast by the Los Angeles County Fire Department on December 11, the day the fire was active, at high or very high levels across the Los Angeles Basin, Santa Monica Mountains and Santa Clarita Valley. “It hasn't rained yet in Southern California this season,” said Daniel Swaina climate scientist at UCLA. “That's the key. That's the real striker.”
High winds combined with dry vegetation are not just a problem for Southern California. Dry conditions increase the risk of wildfires across the country—for a while East Coastspring and fall fire season, for example. And winter fires are already breaking out elsewhere in the West: Colorado is moving quickly Marshall fire broke out on December 30, 2021, going from a small grass fire to a suburban blaze — one that eventually destroyed more than 1,000 homes — in just one hour.