Here’s one possible reason Northern California is faring so much worse than Southern California in this year’s terrible fire season: a lack of rain.
Northern California saw dramatically less rain than Southern California did over the last water year, which ended Wednesday. While downtown Los Angeles enjoyed 99% of its annual average rainfall, downtown San Francisco saw just 49%.
The pattern was seen across the state. Santa Rosa, the most populous city in Sonoma County, which was ravaged by the Glass fire now burning in wine country, saw just 53% of its annual average rainfall; San Diego, meanwhile, saw 132% of its annual rainfall.
Of the six largest fires in California history, five are currently burning, and all of them are in either Northern or Central California. More than 3.9 million acres have burned in California this year, a record in the state’s modern history, with the fires responsible for at least 30 deaths and the destruction of more than 7,500 structures.
Read the full story on LATimes.com.
