Fires ring Southern California and it's only May. What's going on?

Wildfires have burned more than 26,000 acres in California, triggering about 45,000 evacuations and injuring six people. Southern California has been hit hardest, with nearly a dozen fires consuming varied terrain including remote chaparral and brushy foothills near neighborhoods, and at least one home burned. Experts say early May fire activity is becoming more common as climate change shifts the traditional fire season start earlier by drying vegetation. Five fires of 1,000 acres or more are burning in Southern California, described as abnormal for the time of year but consistent with historical patterns. Little precipitation since December, record heat across the Western U.S., and offshore wind events have contributed to ignition and rapid spread.

"Wildfires have torched more than 26,000 acres in California this week, forcing 45,000 evacuations and signaling an early start to the area's typical fire season. This level of fire activity may seem unusual for May, but experts say that, increasingly, that is no longer the case."

"Nearly a dozen fires have, together, consumed more than 26,000 acres of varied terrain in the region over the last week, in remote island chaparral as well as brushy foothills bordering neighborhoods. Six people have been injured and some 45,000 more remain under evacuation orders. At least one home has burned."

"He pointed to a study suggesting that human-caused warming has advanced the onset of the fire season by six to 46 days across most of the state, primarily by drying out vegetation. "So the fact that the fire season is beginning now in Southern California is pretty predictable, given that it's been really abnormally dry and warm.""

"The region hasn't seen much precipitation since December - the rest of the rainy season was mostly dry outside of some episodic showers, he said. Meanwhile, the Western U.S. as a whole experienced record-breaking heat in January through March, rapidly melting the mountain snowpack, he added. Most of the fires burning in California right now ignited during an offshore wind event"

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