Wildfire season appears to be closing fast in Northern California, where rain drenched the San Francisco Bay Area, snow sent cars spinning across slippery Sierra mountain roads and foothill communities braced for flooding. The risk of fire has dramatically dropped for much of the state north of Monterey, following the hottest summer on record and a destructive wildfire season. Yet the threat of fire remains high in Southern California. Dozens of homes still smoldered in Ventura County after Santa Ana winds drove the Mountain Fire through Camarillo. And there’s no rain in the near-term forecast for the southern third of the state, said climate scientist Daniel Swain.  

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• LAist: At least $6 million in agriculture destroyed or damaged by Mountain Fire as officials focus on recovery
• San Francisco Chronicle: ‘Life-threatening flash flooding’ warned near Park Fire burn scar
• Los Angeles Times: Mountain fire is the most destructive in years. Could it have been much worse?
• Sacramento Bee: Rain, thunderstorms are in the forecast for Sacramento. How long will showers last?
• CBS Los Angeles: How the Mountain Fire was fueled by an “environmental recipe” leading to disaster
• Independent: Many think wildfires are a West Coast disaster – but climate change now puts the East Coast at more risk