California has received a record amount of snow and rain this year putting many dough concerns at ease. But, how will this impact fire season?
Brent Wachter is the predictive service fire meteorologist for Northern California. He said there is a lot that goes into forecasting fire season and conditions are always changing.
“We first start with what have you done for me lately in terms of precipitation, temperature, and how that impacts the fuels,” Wachter said. “And we look at the current state of fuel flammability." Fuel flammability is low right now thanks to late rains and a record Sierra snowpack which is good news for communities in higher elevations.
However, the Northstate and specifically the Valley, are starting to see consistently high temperatures. These high temperatures quickly dry out all the extra grass grown from recent rain.