Why do fires always happen in California?

It is related to the local geographical conditions, as follows:

1. The whole state is dry in summer, sunny and rainy in winter. Affected by geographical conditions, the climate varies greatly. In summer, the temperature in the southeastern Colorado Desert reaches 54°C, close to the highest temperature on earth; in winter, the top of the Sierra Nevada is as cold as the Arctic.

2. There are volcanoes on the Pacific coast of California, such as the active Mount St. Helens.

3. Southern California has relatively good vegetation and high forest coverage. It is a famous tourist attraction and wine-making place. The representative vegetation is subtropical evergreen sclerophyll forest, and there are also dry shrubs or sclerophyll grassland. This vegetation is characterized by high oil content in the leaves. Once it catches fire, it can only help the fire. The burning time is long and the fire is strong.

Extended information

In September 2014, more than 10 wildfires broke out in California, with the affected area reaching 297 square miles (approximately 770 square kilometers). From January to August 2017, the affected area reached 350 square miles (approximately 906 square kilometers). In October 2017, two fires in the north and south looked like the end of the world.

Since 2018, the largest fire in history has broken out in California, with the affected area reaching 1,000 square miles (approximately 2,590 square kilometers).

In August 2000, the then Clinton administration directed the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of the Interior to jointly study legal provisions for dealing with forest fires, protecting forests, and improving forest firefighting capabilities.

In 2001, a 10-year plan for national forest protection and firefighting in the United States was released, led by the Forest Fire Management Administration and attended by various state governments in the United States.

Statistics from the official website of the U.S. Fire Administration show that overall, the number of fires has declined from 2005 to 2014, and fire-related losses have also dropped significantly.

Baidu Encyclopedia--California (an administrative state in the western United States)