photo credit: CAL FIRE Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit
Fire crews, aircraft and engines assemble at the Sonoma Air Attack Base.

Even under an overcast sky at the Sonoma Air Attack Base in Santa Rosa, CAL FIRE Director Joe Tyler said wildfires are already burning throughout Northern California.

Tyler said that this year alone, more than a thousand fires have already burned nearly fifteen‑thousand acres.

He said the state continues to see extreme weather — and that summer conditions make it especially dangerous.

We’ll see the temperatures rise," said Tyler. "We will see an exponential increase in wildfire activity due to hot and dry conditions, windy weather, lightning that surely will come across California at some point, making the landscape prone to fire."

Tyler said this shift is clear and has consequences.

"That’s why we call it a fire year and no longer a fire season," said Tyler. 

Caroline Thomas Jacobs, Director of the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, said the key is partnership and preparation — noting that California has built the largest mutual aid system in the country, with more than a thousand partner agencies.

"This fiscal year CAL OES has already approved 98 pre-positioned events including 35 critical fire weather events and 58 mud and debris flow events," said Jacobs. "And we're building for the long term. Strengthening our centers and investing in our communities to reduce risk before disaster strikes." 

California now operates the largest wildfire aviation fleet in the world, and the Sonoma‑Lake‑Napa unit is among its biggest.

Officials say partnerships with local, state, tribal, and community groups remain central to staying ready to respond to wildfires.