Any wildfire can become a threat to life and property. But in Northern California, the most destructive fires can also change the forests and snowpack that help feed the region’s rivers and reservoirs. That connection is a growing concern in the American River watershed, which helps supply water for approximately 2 million people. A new watershed resilience plan funded by California’s Department of Water Resources looks at how climate change could affect the American, Bear and Cosumnes watersheds in the decades ahead. The impacts include hotter summers, more extreme precipitation, longer droughts, shrinking snowpack, more frequent wildfire and earlier runoff into reservoirs.

Other water and wildfire news:

• Wyoming Public Media: Wyoming drought response under scrutiny in wildfire season
• FOX13 (Salt Lake City): Destruction in Beaver has Utah leaders pushing forest management