Comparing California fire season in 2020 and 2023, why officials say there is a big difference

MONTEREY, Calif. (KION) - Wildfires are a topic of discussion when it starts to warm up in California.
Now that we are transitioning into late fall and winter, a small sigh of relief is made as fire season hasn't been as severe in our area as it was in the past.

"Fortunately with that rainfall, we do have a significant moisture content in our heavier fuels, brush and trees here, specifically on the peninsula, which has allowed a slower fire growth," said Curtis Rhodes, Captain for CAL FIRE BEU

In 2020 4.3 million acres burned across California.

Here on the Central Coast, the Carmel, River, Dolan, and CZU fires had people on edge.

Now in 2023, not even half of a million acres were burned in California.

A big reason for that is AI technology. Forbes named CAL FIRE AI &AlertCalifornia as a best inventions of 2023.

"Having that technology that can spot these things and allow us to rapidly get our ground resources," said Rhodes.

"We had a very heavy winter really across much of the state, and we can see that because the state is now out of drought completely," said Dann Cianca, Chief Meteorologist.

When looking at the map on your screen you can see the massive drought the majority of California was in.

In 2023, we are nowhere near the same drought levels. CAL FIRE says they're using this time to train and prepare for the next big wildfire.

CAL FIRE says although they are expecting some rainfall in the next few months, they will maintain peak staffing and continue to look for ways to increase their ability to fight fires.

As far as the rest of this year goes, we are expecting slightly above-normal rainfall