December Wildfires Are Now a Thing

This is basically the story appeared High country news and part of it Climate Desk cooperation

In Southern California, December wildfires are somewhat unusual but not entirely out of the norm. And this year, extremely dry conditions and strong Santa Ana winds created the perfect recipe for dangerous late-year fires.

December 9 night Franklin Fire Sparks erupted in the mountains above Malibu. to tearAlmost 3,000 acres in just 24 hours. As of midday on December 12, the fire was less than 10 percent contained, with just over 4,000 acres burned and minimal destruction. Seven structures.

Last month, the Mountain Fire Ignite in similar conditions in nearby Ventura County, growing 1,000 acres in the first hour. Within two days it was over 20,000 acres; 240 structures were destroyed before firefighters contained it in early December.

And it hasn’t rained yet – not since the mountain fires or throughout the fall.

It’s true that the Santa Ana wind—dry air that blows from the high desert to the coast and brings low humidity, sometimes below 10 percent—regularly rises in the fall and winter. But what is less common is the lack of rainfall hold on Southern California right now, though the region isn’t technically one the drought yet

There is a weather station in downtown Los Angeles to record Only 5.7 inches of rain fell this year, and not even a quarter of an inch fell in December, which is typically the middle of the region’s wet season. Most years saw three or more wet days during this period, enough to reduce the risk of some wildfires; The region receives about 90 percent of its rainfall comes Between October and end of April.

“We’re still waiting for the start of the wet season in that part of the state, which will meaningfully wet the fuel and put the threat of major fires to bed,” said John AbatzogloProfessor of Climatology, University of California, Merced.

In wet years, the risk of fire is lower during the windy season. But now, “when ignition and wind collide”, as Abatzoglou says, the landscape is made for fire. Prepare to burn dry grass and shrubs, and fire hazard The Los Angeles County Fire Department’s forecast for December 11, the day the fire grew significantly, was high or very high across the Los Angeles Basin, Santa Monica Mountains and Santa Clarita Valley. “It hasn’t rained yet this season in Southern California,” he said Daniel SwainA climate scientist at UCLA. “That’s the key. That’s the real kicker.”

High winds combined with bone-dry vegetation aren’t just a problem for Southern California. Dry conditions increase wildfire risk across the country—at this time east coastIts spring and fall fire season, for example. And winter wildfires are spreading elsewhere in the West: Colorado’s fast-moving Martial fire Sparked on December 30, 2021, a small grass fire turned into a suburban wildfire — which eventually burned more than 1,000 homes — in just one hour.