Overview

• Research analyzing data from 1992 to 2020 shows the onset of California’s wildfire season has shifted up to six weeks earlier, especially in Northern California.
• Scientists have ruled out increased biomass and human-caused ignitions as primary factors, attributing the shift to prolonged drought, elevated temperatures and low humidity.
• State and local firefighting agencies are adapting strategies and resources for what is now treated as a year-round wildfire threat.
• Two January 2025 fires near Los Angeles killed 31 people, destroyed over 16,000 buildings and prompted a follow-up study linking an additional 440 deaths to smoke exposure and strained medical services.
• The Gifford Fire in central California has burned more than 339 square kilometers, injured four people and threatened over 870 structures under extreme heat conditions.