As Earth Warms, California Fire Season Is Starting Earlier, Study Finds
The onset of summertime fire activity in large parts of the state has crept into spring by up to two months since the early 1990s, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances.
The change has been especially pronounced in the Cascade Range in Northern California, the coastal mountains of Central California and coastal Southern California from Monterey to San Diego.
Officials and disaster managers in the state now often speak of fire as a year-round hazard, instead of a seasonal threat.
The study rules out two factors that might theoretically be behind the shift: buildups of vegetation and changes in the number of fires ignited, either accidentally or on purpose, by humans.
The more important drivers, the researchers found, are the effects of greenhouse warming, including earlier and faster snowmelt and a warmer atmosphere that pulls more moisture out of soil and vegetation.
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