Climate change is increasing the number of days that weather adds to California's wildfire risk - KCRA Sacramento

Climate change is increasing the number of days that weather adds to wildfire risk

Climate change is increasing the number of days that weather adds to California's wildfire risk

Rising global temperatures are leading to more days where the weather can increase the risk of dangerous wildfires in Northern California.

The risk of fast-spreading wildfires increases dramatically on dry, hot and windy days.

Rising global temperatures are leading to more days where the weather can increase the risk of dangerous wildfires in Northern California.

According to a study led by Climate Central, the Sacramento climate region now experiences two more weeks each year where weather adds to wildfire risk, compared to 50 years ago.

The most worrisome weather days for fire crews are days when the air is hot and dry and the wind is strong.

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Kaitlyn Trudeau worked on the Climate Central study, analyzing temperature, relative humidity and wind data for cities throughout the United States.

"We really realize that it's the increasing dry days that's really driving these massive increases in fire weather days," Trudeau said.

Those dry days lead to fuels that burn hotter and faster.

Climate scientists agree that global temperature increases are connected to more prolonged droughts in the U.S. West.

Earth's global average temperature has risen 1.9 degrees Fahrenheit since the late 1800s. Much of that warming is a direct result of human carbon emissions.

"While climate change isn't causing these fires, it's acting as a threat multiplier because it's making them harder to address," Trudeau said.

Many other factors contribute to how active a wildfire year may be. Terrain, fuel types and human activity all influence where a fire may start or how fast one could spread. Because of that, Trudeau says that the two-week increase for Sacramento is a conservative estimate.

Cal Fire is dealing with the connection between climate change and wildfire activity in practice.

"Those conditions that lead to large, destructive wildfires are presenting themselves earlier in the year and then of course sticking around a little longer," Cal Fire's Chief Issac Sanchez said.

Because of that, Cal Fire encourages residents to be "wildfire ready" year-round.

"We simply don't know when it's going to happen. We don't know where it's going to happen. The only thing that we do know is that it will happen eventually," says Sanchez.

This story was produced as part of our Wildfire Ready special that airs July 19, 2023, at 7:30 p.m. on KCRA 3.