Just last week, "low fire season" was declared across the region. But with warm temperatures this week and dry weather since November's storms how long can Southern California expect so remain in that category?
In a joint effort between fire authorities and the National Weather Service, officials studying local vegetation in the aftermath of last month's storms determined that wildland fuels were responding well to the recent rain.
"So if we were to get especially a couple more systems in December and January, that would really help reinforce it even more," National Weather Service meteorologist Dave Gomberg said in an interview with ABC7. "But as it stands right now, it's a little too early to really determine for sure if we're going to make it through the whole winter in low fire season."
According to If you had an extended period of warm, dry weather and especially several Santa Ana wind events, we could see, you know, like you were mentioning in February, March, you know, things could take a change, especially if we don't get any additional rain. But again, that's still premature. We would have to kind of check in with the fire agencies and determine how the vegetation is responding., 3 to 4 inches of rain is the benchmark to look for when it comes to declaring low fire season. Southern California has exceeded that measurement so far, but when the region receives the rain also matters.
"If you had an extended period of warm, dry weather -- and especially several Santa Ana wind events -- we could see, like you were mentioning in February, March, things could take a change, especially if we don't get any additional rain," Gomberg told ABC7 meteorologist Brianna Ruffalo. "But again, that's still premature. We would have to kind of check in with the fire agencies and determine how the vegetation is responding."