California’s Renewed Drought Accelerates Risk of Wildfires and Mudslides

According to a Los Angeles County park ranger, California’s rainfall deficit has county officials searching for potential solutions to mitigate the increasing risks associated with a renewed drought in Southern California.

Sam Schroeder, who works as a park ranger in Calabasas, Calif., said recent dry conditions are increasing the threat of wildfires and mudslides.

“Once it does rain where plants burn down, there is less (vegetation) to hold the soil together, making it more likely to have mudslides that can impact large areas.”

As of March 7, nearly all of Los Angeles County is in a stage two severe drought, according to the National Drought Mitigation Center. A stage two drought can lead to “crop or pasture losses, water shortages, and an increase in water restrictions.”

California has been located under an area of high pressure, receiving little rain, hot temperatures, and a high risk of fire danger since the water year began on Oct. 1.

Since Oct. 1, Los Angeles received 2.55 inches of rain, 35 percent of LA’s average rainfall of 7.27 inches. Downtown LA recorded two instances of rainfall over one-third of an inch during the last year, reducing water reserves in local aquifers.

Due to the lack of rain, Schroeder said dry conditions “are prime for Southern California to have large fires,” adding that California’s ecosystem “is adapted to fires, but it is not used to the large intense wildfires we have recently seen.” The Thomas Fire, which is California’s largest recorded fire, burned approximately 440 square miles of land in Santa Barbara and Ventura County in Dec. 2017.

As the number of large fires increase, Schroeder said, “human activity still remains as the number one cause of wildfires.” According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, humans caused at least three out of five of California’s largest wildfires. The cause of the Thomas Fire still remains under investigation.

Schroeder said the Thomas Fire is a great teaching moment for California residents to learn about fire ecology. “Residents are not aware enough about California’s volatile fire ecology. A fire that occurred months ago is still impacting the region, affecting the prevalence of mudslides and impacting local ecology.”

Schroeder also said situations like the Montecito mudslides will be more common if California continues having infrequent rainstorms during a long dry period. On Jan. 8, 21 residents of Montecito, Calif. died after a series of mudslides occurred due to a heavy rain event.

According to Santa Barbara County Officials, a large coastal region near Montecito is still at risk for future mudslides due to the lack of vegetation on hillsides which burned as a result of the Thomas Fire. California officials are searching for possible solutions to mitigate the risk of mudslides and intense wildfires in populous regions.

According to members of the state Water Resources Board, California officials could soon enforce permanent water restrictions for state residents. Previously, Gov. Brown ended California water restrictions in April 2017 after an above average year of rainfall across the state.

California received a statewide storm on March 2, providing a boost to mountain snowpack. Despite the storm, the Sierra Nevada snowpack only contains an equivalent of five inches of water, far short of the 17-inch average for March 7. The Sierra Nevada provides 30 percent of California’s water through snow melt.

A lack of mountain snow can worsen drought related impacts for typically arid communities. TreePeople, an LA-based community activist organization which provides education and activities about climate initiatives and water security, said, “one storm won’t solve LA’s water supply dilemma.”

Luis Rodriguez, the Community Engagement lead for TreePeople, organizes a monthly tour to teach Los Angeles residents how to reduce water consumption by planting drought tolerant plants and removing unnecessary grass. Local LA community areas, including Exposition Park, are removing excess shrubs and grass to reduce water consumption and lower the risk of a fire spreading during high winds.

Schroeder said saving water resources is a community effort. “In order to reduce water usage and avoid the risk of wildfires, clear brush around your property, follow state guidelines on sprinklers, reduce in-home water consumption, and do your best to conserve California’s continued limited water resources.”