photo credit: Cal Fire LNU
The Briggs Fire burning off of Briggs Ranch Road near Geyserville in Sonoma County, CA
on Sunday, 5 April 2026.

Record breaking March heat - soon-to-come spring showers - a "super El Nino"- weather and fire have been in the headlines over the past few weeks.

Last month California recorded it's warmest and driest March in the state's 132 year recorded history.

This year, the state snowpack sits at just a paltry 18% of average.

So what Cal Fire is looking out for as the weather warms?

There have been some small fires recently in the North Bay - like the Briggs Fire near Geyserville on April 5th, but Cal Fire assistant chief Mike Wink said current fire conditions aren't out of the ordinary.

"This year we've had 31 fires for 32 acres," Wink said. "So, a little bit more than in the years past, but in 2022, we had 55 fires for 36 acres. So, it's not overly concerning here in the spring time while we're still looking at the change in weather and conditions."

Despite the March heatwave, the National Interagency Fire Center shows normal fire risk for April across all of California.

Forecasters have warned of a potentially powerful El Niño event later in the year, but warm Pacific water conditions associated with El Niño's typically have a stronger effect on Southern California; bringing increased wet weather to the southern half of the state.

Locally, Wink said, Cal Fire units, like the LNU unit covering Sonoma, Lake, Napa, Yolo, Solano, and Colusa counties works off of four month predictions. Wink said that warming trends could mean, "we may see things in June that are more like August or September, something like that."

Wink said the window remains open for rural residents and land owners to conduct pile burning, or arrange prescribed burns, but said most importantly, "please have a plan do your part to be prepared."

"Do your defensible space, and for any additional tools and or processes to help you with your plan or defensible space, please go to readyforwildfire.org," Wink said.

The Cal Fire Sonoma-Lake-Napa unit has reached full staffing, with 31 engines, and six bulldozers available ahead of the summer months.