2023 California wildfires

California has seen a series of powerful atmospheric rivers between December 2022 and March 2023, which have much improved drought conditions in the state and boosted the snowpack in the Sierra Nevada to more than 200% of average for the date. Some researchers have noted that the resulting vegetation growth could prove dangerous if dry and warm conditions return during spring and summer, obviating the gains from early storms,[3][4] but in general, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire), increased precipitation reduces the risk of a worse wildfire season.[5]

In the meantime, Cal Fire predicts that "critically dry fuel moisture alignments are not likely to be reached for any great length of time or over a larger area" between January and April 2023.[1] Critical fuel moisture refers to the point at which fuel characteristics—like vegetation mortality or dryness—are favorable for large fire growth.[6] Seasonal forecasts are inconclusive regarding continued high levels of precipitation in the state as a rare third annual La Niña gives way to neutral or perhaps El Niño conditions.[5][7]

In January, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the allocation of $930 million in funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act to ten western states, including California, for fuel reduction programs and other measures to curtail wildfire risks. The allocation was reported to represent a significant increase in funding for programs like tree clearing, brush thinning and removal, and controlled burns in Southern California, whose four National Forests previously received about $1.2 million annually for those purposes.[8]

On January 31, California senators Dianne Feinstein and Alex Padilla (as well as senators Steve Daines of Montana and Ron Wyden of Oregon) introduced a bill to the U.S. Senate entitled the Wildfire Emergency Act, recognizing the "threat of wildfire" as an emergency in the Western United States. The proposed bill would span multiple issues: it would provide at least a quarter of a billion dollars in funding for forest restoration and wildfire resilience in 20 locations of more than 100,000 acres (40,000 ha) each, coordinated by the Forest Service. It would also create a program at the Department of Energy to "ensure that critical facilities remain active during wildfire disruptions" (as power shutoffs have become an increasingly common method of reducing wildfire ignition risk for utilities). Further funding would be provided for prescribed fire implementation, firefighter training, and wildfire detection.[9]

On March 20, Vice President Kamala Harris announced $197 million in federal grants through the administration’s wildfire defense grant program. California-based authorities and organizations were slated to receive 29 grants; they include money for counties to conduct home defensible space inspections, prescribed burn training, and fuels reductions, as well as increased funding for U.S. Forest Service and Department of Interior wildfire prevention efforts.[10]

In Northern California, fire season typically peaks in the summer with increasingly warm and dry conditions and aided by occasional dry cold frontal passages that may bring winds and/or lightning. Activity usually continues until late fall brings Pacific moisture to the northern portion of the state, though northeast wind events may pose a threat. In Southern California, fire season typically peaks in late spring through early fall, when Pacific moisture recedes. Offshore wind events such as Santa Ana winds mean that large fires are possible year-round, but their frequency is most heightened in the fall, when fuels are also driest.[11]