California's Fire Season Gets Off To An Explosive Start As Blaze Threatens Hundreds Of Homes

A bush fire near L.A. prompted evacuations and threatened 200 homes. The fire may also be a sign of things to come, as the drought and high temperatures prime the state for more blazes.

Two separate brush fires erupted in Southern California Saturday, foreshadowing what could be an explosive, drought-fueled fire season.

The most significant of the two fires burned in Chino, about 40 miles from downtown Los Angeles. According to CalFire, the blaze had burned more than a thousand acres by Sunday. It was caused by an unattended cooking fire, officials said.

The fire in Chino also threatened 200 homes and led to mandatory evacuations, according to CalFire.

Residents were allowed back to their homes early Sunday.

Big fire burning off the 71 #abc7eyewitness @ABC7

As of 12:30 p.m. Sunday local time, the fire had not damaged any buildings. It was 25% contained, according to CalFire.

Earlier in the day, a smaller fire broke out in Fullerton, about 26 miles southeast of L.A.

@ABC7 @NBCLA @KTLA #fullerton #fire

The blaze prompted evacuations at a sports complex before crews managed to put out the flames.

Saturday's fires in Southern California follow a string of smaller blazes, including two that burned several acres Friday in Malibu.

The fire in Chino is the first major Southern California blaze to threaten homes in 2015. All of the recent fires come early in the year and at a time of record drought and heat.

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Virtually all of California's most destructive wildfires have come later in the year, often in July, August, and September.

That happens for a few reasons. For starters, by mid- to late-summer, vegetation is dried out — grass "cures," or becomes dry and brown — and temperatures soar.

Relative humidity also influences fire risk. When humidity is low, it sucks the moisture out of plants, particularly lightweight ones like grass. And that makes them much more likely to burn. And in much of the West, the late summer can bring periods of extremely low humidity.

Unfortunately, these fire-friendly conditions have arrived earlier than normal.

Wildfire on approach to LAX. @SouthwestAir

A report issued this month by the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC), warned that California would "likely see increased activity earlier than usual thanks to the dryness from the long term drought." The report described the risk of fires for April as "above normal."

One of the problems is that very little rain and snow has resulted in grass that is drier sooner. Another challenge is that 2014's record heat has continued into 2015.

And with an early start the fire season, conditions may only get worse as the year goes on.

The fire is getting really big #ABC7Eyewitness

The NIFC report points out that hot temperatures will likely persist through the late spring and summer. Making matters even worse, humidity will be low as warmer-than-normal ocean waters limit the amount of fog that drifts onto land.

Combined with vegetation that is already dried out and ready to burn in April, these conditions mean California may be in for a long, hot fire season.

"Very little additional precipitation is anticipated through June," the report adds, "with drought conditions expected to worsen and expand to encompass more areas of the state."

Fullerton is to the southeast of Los Angeles. An earlier version of this story misstated its location.

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