California’s Wildfire Season Is Already Overactive

加州野火季已呈现过度活跃态势

It’s May, but California is already getting a taste of what peak fire season could look like, as out-of-control blazes pose a danger to infrastructure and some of the most threatened trees on the planet. 现在才五月，但加州已经提前感受到了火灾高峰期的严峻形势。失控的野火正威胁着当地的基础设施，以及地球上一些最濒危的树种。

A combination of high winds and heat has contributed to a trio of major fires in Southern California. 强风与高温的共同作用，导致南加州出现了三场重大火灾。

The largest among them is the Santa Rosa Island Fire, which started over the weekend in Channel Islands National Park after a stranded sailor used flares to signal for help. The blaze has consumed roughly 16,600 acres—almost a third of the entire island. While some structures have been lost, the biggest is a grove of Torrey pines, which are among the rarest trees in the world. 其中规模最大的是圣罗莎岛（Santa Rosa Island）火灾。这场火灾始于周末的海峡群岛国家公园，起因是一名受困水手使用信号弹求救。大火已吞噬了约 16,600 英亩土地，几乎占整个岛屿面积的三分之一。虽然一些建筑物已被烧毁，但最令人担忧的是岛上的一片托里松（Torrey pines）林，这是世界上最稀有的树种之一。

Torrey pines are considered critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The group has warned that the grove on the island faces “high potential risk from destructive fires.” While the Santa Rosa Island Fire burned through the grove, there’s hope that the worst-case scenario may not have come to pass. 托里松被国际自然保护联盟（IUCN）列为极危物种。该组织曾警告称，岛上的这片树林面临着“破坏性火灾的高潜在风险”。尽管圣罗莎岛的火势蔓延到了这片树林，但目前仍有希望避免最坏的情况发生。

“Upon initial assessments, fire crews are observing that the fire intensity was low and that the stand remains intact,” Mike Theune, the fire information officer assigned by the federal government, writes in an email. “When safe to do so, a fire effects crew will be assigned to make a full determination of condition and any long-term effects.” 联邦政府指派的火灾信息官迈克·休恩（Mike Theune）在一封电子邮件中写道：“根据初步评估，消防人员观察到火势强度较低，树林整体保持完好。在确保安全的情况下，我们将派遣火灾影响评估小组进行全面检查，以确定其状况及任何长期影响。”

While smaller, the Sandy Fire has forced thousands to evacuate in and around Simi Valley, located about 35 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Fire activity increased on Tuesday morning as high winds whipped the flames across nearly 1,400 acres. 虽然规模较小，但桑迪（Sandy）火灾已迫使洛杉矶市中心西北约 35 英里处的西米谷（Simi Valley）及其周边地区的数千人撤离。周二上午，强风助长了火势，过火面积迅速扩大至近 1,400 英亩。

The fire is only 5 percent contained, while the Santa Rosa Island Fire isn’t contained at all. Because homes and businesses are threatened, the Sandy Fire has received more aerial resources to quell the flames. The River Fire has also burned 3,535 acres in Kern County and is 15 percent contained. 目前桑迪火灾仅有 5% 得到控制，而圣罗莎岛火灾则完全处于失控状态。由于居民住宅和商业设施受到威胁，桑迪火灾已调集了更多的空中资源进行扑救。此外，克恩县（Kern County）的河火（River Fire）已烧毁 3,535 英亩土地，目前控制率为 15%。

In the early stages of fire season, nearly 41,000 acres have burned across the state, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. But that’s well above the five-year average of 23,380 acres burned by this date and could be a harbinger of what’s to come in the state and across the West. 据加州林业与消防局统计，在火灾季节的初期，全州已有近 41,000 英亩土地被烧毁。这一数字远高于过去五年同期平均 23,380 英亩的过火面积，这可能预示着加州乃至整个美国西部地区未来将面临严峻的考验。

Record-breaking heat obliterated already-meager snowpack this spring, leaving states primed to burn. The most recent snowpack measurements show California’s Sierra Nevada range harbors just 9 percent of its usual snowpack for this time of year, while many basins in other parts of the West have no measurable snow at all, according to federal data. 今年春季破纪录的高温消融了本已稀薄的积雪，使各州极易引发火灾。联邦数据显示，最新的积雪测量结果显示，加州内华达山脉的积雪量仅为往年同期的 9%，而西部其他地区的许多盆地甚至完全没有可测量的积雪。

Hot weather is, of course, a hallmark of climate change. A recent analysis by the nonprofit Climate Central found that April 1 snowpack—a key date for measuring what’s on the ground—has declined across the West by 18 percent since 1955. 当然，炎热天气是气候变化的标志。非营利组织“气候中心”（Climate Central）最近的一项分析发现，自 1955 年以来，西部地区 4 月 1 日的积雪量（衡量地表积雪的关键日期）已经下降了 18%。

All of which is to say that while the early season fires are bad, the West hasn’t seen anything yet. 总而言之，尽管早期的火灾已经十分严重，但对于美国西部而言，真正的考验或许还在后面。