Mismanagement Contributes to Longer Fire Seasons, Researchers Say

Bruce McDougal hoses down vegetation while working to save his home from the Bond Fire burning though the Silverado community in Orange County, Calif., on Dec. 3, 2020. Noah Berger/AP Photo

California’s wildfire season is getting longer, according to University of California–Irvine (UCI) environmental engineers, who say poor fire-management practices contributed to the most wildfires.

In a study published April 22, UCI researchers analyzed California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CALFIRE) wildfire statistics from 2000 to 2019, comparing the data with the period of 1920 to 1999.