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The Conversation
The Conversation
Environment
Ming Pan, Senior Research Hydrologist, University of California, San Diego

Southern California is extremely dry, and that’s fueling fires − maps show just how dry

Dry vegetation helped fuel fires that spread through the Los Angeles area in early January 2025. Mario Tama/Getty Images

Dry conditions across Southern California set the stage for a series of deadly wind-driven wildfires that burned thousands of homes and other structures in the Los Angeles area in early January 2025.

Ming Pan, a hydrologist at the University of California-San Diego’s Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes, tracks the state’s water supplies. He put Southern California’s dryness into perspective using charts and maps.

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