The manager of the National Fire Protection Association in Denver, Thomas Welle, on Wednesday said that California’s issue with wildfires has escalated over the past three years.
“It’s all about conditions, and we’ve been having these drought conditions in California for I think about six years,” Welle told Hill.TV’s Buck Sexton and Krystal Ball on “Rising.”
“I believe last spring they had some good rainfall, which causes a lot of growth, but once the water shuts off, everything dries out again,” he said. “We’ve had three years of pretty bad fires in California, and they just keep kind of escalating to where we are today,” he said.
Welle’s comments come as multiple fires continue to rage in California, leaving at least 48 people dead, according to the Associated Press.
The news organization reported that 5,000 firefighters are trying to put out the Camp Fire, which has decimated 8,000 homes and forced 52,000 people to evacuate.
Meanwhile, the Woolsey Fire has burned over 100,000 acres in Southern California.
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke will travel to the state on Wednesday to tour the damaged areas and meet with Gov. Jerry Brown (D).
President Trump garnered backlash over the weekend after he blamed the fires on poor forest management.
— Julia Manchester
Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.