Publication Date December 5, 2017 | Sacramento Bee via Associated Press

California communities under siege from wind-driven fires

United States
Dramatic images of the fire burning near Ventura. Photo: AP
Dramatic images of the fire burning near Ventura. Photo: AP

Fires are not typical in Southern California this time of year but can break out when dry vegetation and too little rain combine with the Santa Ana winds. Hardly any measurable rain has fallen in the region over the past six months.

Like the deadly October fires in Napa and Sonoma counties, the new blazes were in areas more suburban than rural.

Fires in those settings are likely to become more frequent as climate change makes fire season a year-round threat and will put greater pressure on local budgets, said Char Miller, a professor of environmental analysis at Pomona College who has written extensively about wildfires.