All of this is adding more stress to water resources that are already depleting in the West's megadrought. In October, the area was hit with an atmospheric river rain event that caused massive flooding and erosion. But there's also an education campaign for policymakers and residents about the threat wildfires pose to their drinking water. "Seventy-one percent of the entire state of California drinks water that comes out of the Sierra Nevada," Corcoran said. And with climate change exacerbating drought conditions in California and causing snow-melt water to run down weeks ahead of schedule, water officials and conservationists are warning of even more unpredictability ahead.

Source: CNN May 29, 2022 14:40 UTC