Randerson quoted on real causes of LA firestorm

AirUCI faculty Jim Randerson is quoted in a January 15th article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on the real causes of the firestorm ravaging Los Angeles.  While it’s hard to attribute individual events to climate change, it’s abnormal for wildfires—like those in Los Angeles—to happen during January, but very dry conditions as well as hurricane-force winds helped set the city ablaze.  Winter is the rainy season in Southern California, said Jim, and he can’t remember a time when it has not rained this far into January.  Even an inch of rainfall would have helped hydrate shrubs before the Santa Ana winds kicked up. “That water shuts down any wind-driven fire,” Jim said.  Read the article