SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The number of wildfires and amount of land burned in parched California so far this year greatly exceed totals for the same period in disastrous 2020.
Cal Fire says between Jan. 1 and July 4 there were nearly 4,600 fires that scorched about 115 square miles. In the same time frame last year there were nearly 3,850 fires that blackened about 49 square miles.
By the end of 2020, a total of 9,917 wildfires had charred a record 6,653 square miles.
Cal Fire says this year's increased wildfire activity is being driven by hot and dry conditions throughout the state.
