Peak Wildfire Season Has Arrived In California

Traditionally, wildfire season in California occurs in late summer and fall. However, the past years have shown that fire ‘season’ has extended, including a wildfire in Big Sur earlier this year in January that burned almost 700 acres. As drought conditions have worsened in California, causing the terrain to dry and water levels to drop, California is expected to have an especially intense fire season.

Thus far in 2022, just over 9,000 acres have already burned across the state, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE). In May alone, there have been 10 incidents totaling over 1,403 acres burned.

Central California is already grappling with multiple red flag warnings this month, which the National Weather Service issues when weather conditions might spark a fire. Generally, this includes a combination of warm, dry, and windy conditions.

This week, Cal Fire officially stated that peak fire season was underway. In an effort to assist with this, a thousand-strong AlertWildfire video camera system across the state that monitors landscapes vulnerable to fires. Over half of these cameras have been installed within the footprint of Pacific Gas & Electric, the California utility company whose equipment has been culpable in multiple wildfires.

California is not alone in its wildfire woes. Drought conditions and wildfire threats extend throughout the U.S. west. An enormous wildfire, larger than Los Angeles, is currently blazing across New Mexico after two fires merged. The seven-week-long blaze is occurring near Santa Fe and is 40 percent contained.

California wildfires can be tracked via the CAL FIRE incident database.