Why does California have so many forest fires throughout the year?|153742

With so much metropolis and people,plus nowhere else has that number of fires!

Much of California has a semi-arid climate. The brush grows there during the rainy season and dries out during the summer. It is extremely flammable and when conditions are just right, such as when hot, dry winds blow in off the deserts, it doesn_t take much to cause a major brushfire. It could be nothing more than a lightning strike, car exhaust, or a carelessly tossed cigarette, and you have a major disaster on your hands. The terrain of Southern California doesn_t help. It is mountainous, which provides even more ideal conditions for fires to burn since fires burn faster when they are moving uphill and the steep hills provide wind tunnels for winds that can blow up to 70 MPH. What makes the problem worse is when people continue to build in outlying areas or on steep hillsides. They make themselves vulnerable because their homes often become inaccessible during one of these fires and they can often burn down before fire fighters can ever reach them.

Like all other states, most of California is not a metropolis. There is a lot of dry brush due to arid conditions and lack of rain. Add to this windy conditions and dry lightning storms or careless people and you_ve got serious risk for fires.