California’s Historic Wet Winter Risks Making Wildfire Season Even Worse
As flowering bushes transform into tinder following heavy rains, the state is bracing for a delayed but dangerous fire season.
Firefighters light backfires as they try to contain the Thomas wildfire in Ojai, on Dec. 9, 2017.
Photographer: Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images
Don’t let all the flooding fool you: The same rain and snow that have drenched California this winter and spring risk making the state’s next seasonal calamity — fire season — even worse.
An epic winter left parts of the Central Valley underwater, a problem that may persist for months as one of California’s largest mountain snowpacks on record melts. That elevated moisture is now fueling an explosion of plant growth unlike anything the state’s seen in years. Whole landscapes are blossoming into so-called “superblooms,” as flowering bushes starved by years of drought make the most of the bounty. Soon, that growth will dry out, transforming buds and blossoms into kindling.