Don’t let all the flooding fool you: The same rain and snow that have drenched California this winter and spring risk making the state’s next seasonal calamity — fire season — even worse.
An epic winter left parts of the Central Valley underwater, a problem that may persist for months as one of California’s largest mountain snowpacks on record melts. That elevated moisture is now fueling an explosion of plant growth unlike anything the state’s seen in years. Whole landscapes are blossoming into so-called “superblooms,” as flowering bushes starved by years of drought make the most of the bounty. Soon, that growth will dry out, transforming buds and blossoms into kindling.
“What we expect to see out of the rains is an increase in the amount of fuel there is to burn,” said Issac Sanchez, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, known as Cal Fire.
