Firefighters on Sunday made progress in battling a blaze burning near the mountainous Big Sur area in California that forced evacuations and shuttered a major highway. Just under 200 personnel were fighting the wildfire that triggered the evacuation of about 500 people, she added. California has long had an active wildfire season, but in recent years, fueled at least in part by climate change, it has grown longer and more punishing. So this is the new California.”A wildfire burning in January was “highly unusual,” Juliette said. Last year, the wildfire season started unusually early amid an ongoing drought and low reservoir levels, Cal Fire said.

Source: National Post January 24, 2022 00:12 UTC