Today, the that have gripped much of the state this week have given way to a good old-fashioned winter storm: Both and are expecting rain, strong winds and heavy mountain snow, with through Friday for backcountry areas in the Sierra Nevada. After tapering down on Friday, over the weekend.
With California after experiencing its three driest years on record, any rain is welcome 鈥� but the state will need to experience sustained precipitation in December, January and February to really 鈥渕ake a difference in the drought,鈥� Jan Null, a meteorologist with Golden Gate Weather Services, .
Case in point: As of Wednesday, eight of California鈥檚 12 major state-managed reservoirs were at less than 60% of historical capacity, . And about 18% of local urban water suppliers who shared data with the state they could face possible shortages next year, though only three predicted that or wouldn鈥檛 be enough to bridge the gap. (The report didn鈥檛 include small water suppliers, which 鈥渉istorically have faced more significant water supply challenges during drought conditions.鈥�)
- Peter Gleick, co-founder of the Pacific Institute, a global water think tank, : The takeaway is that 鈥渃onservation really got us through the drought up until today and that it鈥檚 too soon to stop conserving.鈥� But due to some of the report鈥檚 assumptions, 鈥淭hings could be worse than just 20% (of urban suppliers) saying they need to do more and three of them saying, 鈥榃e really are in trouble.鈥� But it just depends on how bad the drought is.鈥�
What is clear is that so far this year, California has managed to avoid that have ripped across the state in recent years. Gov. Gavin Newsom and Cal Fire, the state鈥檚 firefighting agency, in most parts of the state in mid-November, though Newsom noted 鈥渨ildfire season in California is year-round and we remain vigilant.鈥�
So what made this year different? How many wildfires have been sparked so far this year, how many acres have they burned and how does that compare to prior years? How many structures have been destroyed and lives lost? What鈥檚 the wildfire outlook in December? CalMatters鈥� Julie Cart answers those questions and more in this .
Meanwhile, found that growing emergency spending has obscured the true cost of fighting wildfires in California and other states.
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