One of the causes for the fire outbreak in Southern California is the incredibly dry conditions during what is supposed to be the rainy season, which typically runs from December through March. This year, however, the rain has been notably absent, with only 0.01 of an inch of rain recorded in LA since December 1. This marks the driest start to Los Angeles' water year in over 80 years of weather records.
January, typically the second-wettest month of the year in downtown Los Angeles, has seen no rainfall so far, with no precipitation in the forecast for at least the next week. If the city goes the entire month without rain, it will tie with 1976 and 1972 for the driest January on record.
David Acuna, battalion chief and public information officer for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, noted the rarity of the situation, stating, 'This is one of the earliest major fires we've had. We have one of our CAL-FIRE incident management teams assigned to the incident. That's only the third time that's happened in January in the last thirty years. So it's definitely a rare event.'
Since late summer, Southern California has been experiencing increasing dryness, with fall and winter storms bypassing the region and focusing on the Pacific Northwest. While last winter brought abundant rain and snow to the Southwest, this winter has taken a starkly different turn. The shift in weather patterns, swinging between extremes, is becoming more common with the warming climate.
