Low Temperatures and Rain Can Help Battle California Wildfires

Good news may be coming this week, as low temperatures and rain may be able to make the work of firefighters easier as they face California wildfires.

Rain will bring relief.

In North California, rain is expected to come, which may provide relief for those areas being ravaged by severe wildfires.

Unfortunately, before the rains come, there will first be dry and hot weather, which may worsen the fires.

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Historic wildfire season

This year's fire season is historic, with record high temperatures, dry weather, and low wind and humidity, which fueled the fires and killed at least 31, burning over four million acres of land, 26 times more compared to the same months last year.

Cal Fire says that over 8,300 California wildfires have already occurred this year, and as of this Monday, over 16,600 firefighting personnel have engaged 23 major fires, which destroyed 8,687 infrastructures.

There is also an issue of polluted air due to the massive smoke produced by the fires.

Current conditions

Although the red flag status is now over, the low humidity and high temperature still make it hard to contain the fires. These conditions caused the eruption of 27 new fires last Saturday, although the firefighters have been able to manage them all thoroughly. By Sunday, even if the temperatures were still high, they are decreasing.

Rain and cooler weather may help in battling the Glass and Zogg wildfires that have already been burning over one week in the northern region and have stubbornly been hard to control.

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Coming Relief

According to Michael Guy, CNN meteorologist, there is a front coming to the Pacific's northwest that will bring drier and cooler air. After that, he says that a storm may also come on Wednesday up to Thursday. By the middle of the week, there might be light rain in the northern region of California, followed by heavier downpours come Friday, and lasting at least until Tuesday next week.

This rain, according to Guy, will affect places from San Diego up to Seattle, although most of the rain will be in Mendocino up to the border of Canada. This may help containment efforts.

Zogg Fire

Tehama and Shasta have been suffering from Zogg, 76% of which have already been contained by the afternoon of Monday. There have so far been four deaths.

The cause is not yet conclusively known. Active fire can still spark due to the dry and hot conditions for the last two months.

Glass Fire

The Glass Fire is also still under investigation, which devastated the counties of Sonoma and Napa. Evacuations have been mandatory in Napa, as the fire is even scorching it.

Even if residents have started to return home, Cal Fire still cautions them to stay vigilant.

Last Sunday in Santa Rosa city, specific locations already had a lower danger status, with the level being reduced to evacuation warnings or the warnings being canceled.

Status of the Evacuees

The Glass Fire reduced the homes of many evacuees to rubble. They lost their most prized possessions, including furniture, family pictures, and other valuables.

The ongoing drama still has no end in sight, but the coming low temperature and rain provide a needed break from the tragedy brought by the ongoing California wildfires.

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