Unusually warm weather and high winds have extended the fire season into January.
Temperatures in the Bay Area are 10-20 degrees above normal and could hit 80 degrees in Santa Rosa. Overnight winds gusted up to 80 miles per hours at the top of Mount Diablo, and the National Weather Service has issued a High Wind Warning for this afternoon.
“This weather is pretty uncanny for this time of year,” said Dr. Craig Clements, Director of the Fire Weather Research Laboratory at San Jose State University.
Humidity has also dropped to just the single digits, bringing a threat of fire danger that is very rare this far into the winter.
“We are not normal in terms of our fuel. And the reason why is we haven’t had enough rain. And most of the fuels are dormant in the winter and we expect a lot of precipitation, and we haven’t had it,” said Dr. Clements.
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, virtually all of California is experiencing at least a moderate level of drought, with 39.5% in an extreme drought and another 39.6% in a severe drought.
All of these conditions have prompted PG&E to warn that it could shut off power to more than 6,000 homes and businesses across six counties in the lower Sierra, in an effort to avoid sparking a major fire.
This is the first time PG&E has warned of a possible public safety power shutoff in January.
No shutoffs are expected in the Bay Area.