Major wildfires broke out in California this weekend up and down the state, forcing the closure of the southbound side of Interstate 5, just north of Los Angeles, on Sunday.
A map of current fires traces the spine of the state, from L.A. through the Central Valley and up to Redding in northern California.
Until now, an unusually wet spring has suppressed fires, but recent heat, and high winds over the weekend, have driven blazes, fueled by brush and vegetation that has flourished after the last two rainy winters.
The New York Times reported:
A wildfire that quickly consumed more than 14,000 acres of grasslands and brush in a mountainous area northwest of Los Angeles over the weekend signaled the start of what experts warn could be a dangerous, prolonged fire season in the West.
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The blaze, named the Post fire, started on Saturday afternoon near Interstate 5 about 45 miles…
