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San Diegans, and California residents in general, stepped up water conservation efforts in May, state water officials reported Wednesday.
Nearly all of the two dozen local water agencies in San Diego County posted large reductions in use compared to the same month in 2013, which the state uses as a benchmark.
The largest of the local water agencies, the city of San Diego, saw usage decline by 22.6 percent in May even though there wasn’t much rain after the first week of the month. Cumulatively since June 2015, water use in the city is down 18.4 percent.

As a record number of trees stand dead or dying in California’s forests due to drought and beetle infestations, concerns are mounting that the die-off is creating an abundance of fuel likely to trigger wildfires that could threaten homes and lives.

However, an emerging body of science finds little evidence to support these fears. Researchers studying wildfires across the western United States during the past decade have increasingly concluded that forests ravaged by bark beetles and other insects aren’t more likely to burn than healthy expanses of forest.

As water restrictions shift to local water agencies, a few North County communities are moving to ease limitations after winter storms. In Del Mar, city staff recommended downgrading the drought level, which would have allowed power-washing the sidewalks, and turning on the showers at the beach, The Coast News reports. Not all members of the City Council were on board, though. “I think it’s a mistake to relax our drought restrictions — a big mistake — because the drought’s not over,” Councilman Don Mosier said.

City officials hope to better understand the health of Long Beach’s urban forest, which contains some 92,000 street trees throughout the city.

As cities across Southern California have grappled with a historic drought and worked to comply with state-mandated watering restrictions, trees and park systems have suffered, including those in Long Beach.

A handful of City Council members, led by 5th District Councilwoman Stacy Mungo, asked the council to support having the Public Works Department study the condition of the city’s street trees – and based on that assessment, develop a life-cycle management plan.

Los Angeles has chalked up yet another dreary milestone in its growing almanac of drought.

On Wednesday, experts at the National Weather Service confirmed that the last five years have been the driest ever documented in downtown L.A. since official record keeping began almost 140 years ago. Having missed out on most of El Niño’s bountiful rains this winter, the Southland experienced yet another dreadfully below-average year of precipitation between July 1 and June 30. As a result, downtown Los Angeles recorded an average of just 7.75 inches of rain every year since July 2011, according to NWS meteorologist Scott Sukup.