New data shows wildfires are increasing and causing more damage

A study from The University of Michigan has calculated that globally forest fires now burn more than twice as much tree cover each year as they did two decades ago.

"Really there's no days off when it comes to fire," Battalion Chief Curtis Rhodes, CalFire public information officer, said.

Across California, spring 2025 was warmer and drier than normal, according to CalFire.

CalFire reports almost 5,000 wildfires just in this year alone.

Warmer weather and strong winds helping to spark fuels, like dry grass, into fire. 

To aid the community, Monterey County is discussing Fire Severity Zone Maps, which help to show which areas are at the highest risk of fires. 

Alongside this increase, Cal Fire said they are working on many projects to stay on top of the fires and that they are trying to talk with the community as much as possible to remain alert and aware. 

"We're continuing to do this every single day, working with our resiliency team in the unit, and we have multiple vegetation management projects going on," Rhodes said. "We really do our best to get the information out there to set you up for success, even moving on to having to leave your community in the event of occupancy."

CalFire has created a handful of tools, including recently a Burn Severity Data Viewer that helps to  educate people on the history of wildfires in their area.

Rhodes said he does not believe we have reached "peak fire season" for the year yet but that CalFire is starting to see that transition now and is on alert as warm weather continues to approach. 

CalFire BEU did send units down to San Luis Obispo to help with the Gifford fire and potentially might be sending more.