Heat, winds stoke fears of wildfire in Northern California

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CN) — Already in the midst of one of the driest water years in California history, several counties are on high alert for wildfires — and it's only May. Now the National Weather Service has issued a red flag warning for the Sacramento and Central valleys as forecasts of near-triple digit heat and gusty winds have residents on edge.

A red flag warning occurs when weather conditions can spur extreme fire behavior and even a tiny spark can ignite a raging inferno. Wildfire season used to occur between July and October, with the highest risk in September and October. But this year wildfires started sparked during the third week of January. 

“We no longer have a fire season. We have a fire year,” said Orange County Fire Authority Chief Brian Fennessy in a press conference on the Emerald Fire, which burned 154 acres this past February. 

A month before, the Colorado Fire in Monterey county burned 687 acres. And this past week, the Coastal Fire broke out in Southern California and destroyed at least 20 homes and 200 acres. 

“It’s sad to say that we’re getting kind of used to this. We’re seeing spread in ways we haven’t before. Fire is spreading very quickly into this very dry vegetation and taking off,” Fennessy told the Los Angeles Times about the Coastal Fire. 

Over the last 15 years, California has seen a 20% rise in wildfires. Almost 2.6 million acres burned in 2021— a staggering amount of land but a relief compared to 2020, when the largest wildfire in recorded state history and some 8,000 other blazes blackened 4.3 million acres across the Golden State

The First Street Foundation based in New York released an analysis projecting the likelihood of wildfires over the next 30 years. California's Wine Country made the top of the list, followed by the Central Valley. 

Weather officials are urging Northern California residents to avoid driving on or using a lawnmower on dry grass, to keep vehicle parts or chains from dragging on the ground and not do any outdoor burning.

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