An unusually warm autumn heat wave is continuing to push temperatures up across California, heightening fire risks across the state and prompting power shutoffs in the north and additional wildfire evacuations in the south. Heat advisories, many warning of temperatures in the triple digits this week, have been issued throughout the state, from San Diego through Redding, with most areas expecting highs at least 10 to 20 degrees above average for this time of year, according to the National Weather Service. While fire season in California typically stretches through October or November, this kind of heat is abnormal for the season, helping dry out landscapes and drop humidity levels, which officials expect to more easily and quickly foster wildfire growth. … “California looks much warmer than average for the foreseeable future, with little or no prospect of rain anywhere,” Daniel Swain, a UCLA climatologist, said in a recent online briefing.

Related wildfire and heat articles:

• High Country New: Wildfires could devastate Butte’s (Montana) water supply
• Weather West: Blog: Major autumn heatwave to continue streak of record heat in interior Southwest; Warm to hot in California for foreseeable future
• Washington Post: Exceptional fall heat is scorching the Southwest and expanding through California
• USA Today: Autumn heat wave could break season-level records in California
• The New York Times: Monthlong Fire Flares Up Again in Southern California