UC Riverside Professor Rich Minnich explains why a dry winter may be a perk when fire season rolls around. Craig Fiegener reports for the NBC4 News at 6 p.m. on May 9, 2012.
The memory of previous fire seasons is terrible in some areas of the Inland Empire, so any prediction about what to expect this summer likely won't be taken lightly.
One researcher said a dry winter may actually benefit fire-prone regions, especially those that haven't burned recently.
"What's the age it has been since the last fire," said UC Riverside Professor Rich Minnich, who mapped the mountains across Southern California.
"The San Gabriel mountains are here, the San Bernardinos are here and the San Jacintos are here, this is Palm Springs," he said, looking over a map with colorful overlays representing fire growth and history.
"All these reds and oranges, and no color, mean it hasn't burned in 100 years," he said.
Those areas that haven't burned in a century include parts of Lake Arrowhead and mountain areas near Redlands. But the forecast is not entirely gloomy. Minnich said the dry winter means a small amount of growth in many areas.
"So the local hills like you see here in Riverside, have remarkably little fuel in them so this is a minimal fire hazard year," he said.
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But it's those areas on the map without color that has him worried. Those areas have thick trees and old growth. It's dangerous fuel, if a fire was to burn there.
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