The good news? That fire, which has destroyed 1,329 structures in Butte, Plumas, Shasta, Tehama and Lassen counties, on Tuesday was 94% contained. At more than 960,000 acres, it’s three times the size of the city of Los Angeles and eight times the size of San Jose. The second-largest fire in state history, the Dixie Fire, began July 13 near Chico and is still burning. If history is any guide, another month or two of fire season remains in most of the state, including the Bay Area, before November rains are expected to reduce the risk. “We are seeing such extreme conditions that a lot of the old tactics aren’t working as effectively,” said Clay Jordan, superintendent of Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park, at a community briefing Monday on the KNP Complex Fire, which has burned 48,000 acres in the park and is just 8% contained. And it’s double the 6.4 million acres that burned in California during the previous decade.įires are often burning hotter, and with larger flame lengths. Over the past 10 years, back to 2012, a total of 12.7 million acres has burned in California. Meanwhile, more people are moving into fire-prone areas, increasing the risk of ignitions. Hotter temperatures are melting snow and causing dry conditions - fire season - to last longer. Add to that, climate change is causing hotter temperatures, particularly at night, a time when firefighters in the past could gain the upper hand. The lack of rain and snow has left vegetation dangerously dry.
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