Tag Archive for: California

California’s Biggest Heat Wave of the Year Heightens Drought and Fire Fears

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Hayley Smith and Lilia Seidman

With a worsening drought gripping the West and wildfire season looming, California is bracing for the most severe heat wave of the year — one that promises to tax the state’s power supplies while also offering a grim preview of challenging months to come.

The heat wave will bring triple-digit temperatures to the valleys and inland regions of Southern California as well as many parts of the rest of the state, heightening fire risks. It comes as parts of Northern and Central California are turning to water restrictions as the drought rapidly alters the landscape.

Full Story

Intensifying California Drought Promises ‘Very Concerning’ Fire Season

/in , , /by /The Washington Postby Diana Leonard

California is entering its summer fire season with a high level of flammability. The hottest and most fire-prone months of the year are ahead. Conditions in the state are a striking example of escalating fire potential in the drought-stricken West.

How the season unfolds will depend on a number of factors, including where ignitions occur and the duration of summer heat waves.

But the outlook is poor at this time, given deepening drought, abundant dry fuels and hot early-season temperatures.

Full Story

Water: Amazing New Map Shows the Path of Every Raindrop That Hits the United States

/in , , /by /The Mercury Newsby Paul Rogers

Water is like electricity. Most people don’t think about it much until it’s gone.

Now, as California and other Western states find themselves heading into a severe and worsening drought, a new interactive map is providing a breathtaking journey that shows where America’s water comes from and ends up.

The project is called River Runner. It allows anyone to click on any place where a raindrop would fall in the United States, and then track its path through watersheds, into creeks, rivers, lakes and ultimately the ocean.

Full Story

How Capturing Floodwaters Can Reduce Flooding and Combat Drought

/in , , /by /Inside Climate Newsby Liza Gross

Farmers toil at the mercy of nature’s whims, which can prove particularly vexing in California.

Even before climate change, bouncing between drought and deluge was routine in the Central Valley, the state’s richest farming region. Humans have amplified these natural cycles by pumping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, studies show, creating a future filled with what scientists recently dubbed “whiplash events.”

Full Story

Senate Passes Sen. Dodd’s Water Access and Equity Bill

/in , /by /Lake County News

“Rising water rates coupled with pandemic job losses threaten to cut off many California families from an essential service — water,” Sen. Dodd said Tuesday. “No one should be denied access, regardless of their income level or economic status. Today’s vote is a step toward ensuring low-income customers get the help they need to keep the tap open. I thank my Senate colleagues for supporting this measure.”

Sen. Dodd’s legislation comes as the State Water Resources Control Board heard results of a survey that found water debt in California climbed to about $1 billion.

Full Story

‘Big Risk’: California Farmers Hit by Drought Change Planting Plans

/in , , /by /Reutersby Christopher Walljasper

Joe Del Bosque is leaving a third of his 2,000-acre farm near Firebaugh, California, unseeded this year due to extreme drought. Yet, he hopes to access enough water to produce a marketable melon crop.

Farmers across California say they expect to receive little water from state and federal agencies that regulate the state’s reservoirs and canals, leading many to leave fields barren, plant more drought-tolerant crops or seek new income sources all-together.

Full Story

The Sinking Central Valley Town

/in , /by /SJV Waterby Lois Henry

In California’s San Joaquin Valley, the farming town of Corcoran has a multimillion-dollar problem. It is almost impossible to see, yet so vast it takes NASA scientists using satellite technology to fully grasp. Corcoran is sinking. Over the past 14 years, the town has sunk as much as 11.5 feet in some places — enough to swallow the entire first floor of a two-story house and to at times make Corcoran one of the fastest-sinking areas in the country, according to experts with the United States Geological Survey.

Full Story

Could California’s Drought Crisis Block Bay Area Housing Construction?

/in , , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Emma Talley

The Marin Municipal Water District is considering banning new water service hookups to homes in response to worsening drought conditions. But the move could hurt future housing development in an area already in dire need of more homes.

The move would come amid historic drought conditions in the area, with county officials declaring a local drought emergency last week in light of a “grim and deteriorating” situation. The National Drought Mitigation Center’s drought monitor recently deemed most of the Bay Area as extreme drought zones for the first time since 2015.

Full Story

Column: Follow the Warning Signs: California is Facing a Devastating Drought. It’s Time To Take Action

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby George Skelton

When Sierra snow seeps into the ground or evaporates before it can flow downstream into reservoirs, you know California is facing a severe drought. It’s happening this spring up and down the mountain range that is a primary water source for the state. Water from snowmelt that hydrologists had expected only a few weeks ago to replenish foothill reservoirs is vanishing. It’s being absorbed by the parched soil or dissipating into the thin mountain air.

Full Story

Emergency Water Urged for Rural Latino Communities Before California Drought Worsens

/in , , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Jessica Flores

California lawmakers should take prompt action before drought conditions worsen by sending emergency drinking water to vulnerable communities in parched regions of the state, legislative advisers say.

The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office released a report last week providing recommendations on how to address increasingly dry conditions throughout the state. Based on an analysis of the state’s previous efforts for the last major drought, from 2012 to 2016, analysts said lawmakers should start sending emergency water supplies to vulnerable communities in the San Joaquin Valley region, prepare to remove dead and dying trees that can increase the risk of severe wildfires, and hire additional staff, among other actions.

Full Story