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With 17 active fires burning throughout California, firefighters are facing one of the worst fire seasons in the state’s history. The latest fire reported is charring land in Fresno County. CAL FIRE crews are battling a grass fire that has destroyed 5,000 acres near Highway 198 and Coalinga Mineral Springs Road, west of Coalinga. The fire broke out just after 1 p.m. on Tuesday. Over the last 24 hours, a total of 1,000 firefighters have responded to the growing blaze, which is only 10 percent contained. Units from Bakersfield, California City and Tulare County were requested to assist on Wednesday.

Drought, water diversions and other environmental pressures mean that many rivers and streams in California don’t always have enough water to support healthy fish populations and other wildlife. Environmental water transactions (EWT), a voluntary, market-based system, is one item in the toolbox of agencies and other stakeholders, which they have been using to try to increase flows in rivers and streams. And these transactions may get a boost soon as millions of dollars from the 2014 Proposition 1 water bond are assigned to projects in coming years.

As most of California recovers from this historical drought, one thing we can count on is that history will repeat itself. Californians can take full credit for willingly sacrificing landscape and adjusting habits to save water supply for another year. Toilets have been replaced, lawns have been converted to plastic, leaks have been fixed, prime agricultural land has been fallowed, and we have learned to be more efficient with our water supply. So, fast-forward to the next drought. What’s next?

Today, one of our state’s most iconic local foods, chinook salmon, is in critical danger, threatened by drought and Congress.

Calling for more scrutiny of one of the largest proposed infrastructure projects in California history, legislators from up and down the state on Wednesday approved a financial audit of Gov. Jerry Brown’s $15 billion Delta tunnels. A request by Assembly woman Susan Eggman, D-Stockton, and Sen. Lois Wolk of Davis, cleared an audit committee with the support of several legislators from the Los Angeles area, which would benefit from water diverted through the 40-foot-wide tunnels.Eggman and Wolk said their goal wasn’t to block or delay the tunnels, which are fiercely opposed by their Delta-area constituencies.