Juan Pablo Elverdin
(CNN) – After California experienced its driest year in nearly 100 years, the entire state is now under a drought emergency, authorities said Tuesday.
California Governor Gavin Newsom issued a statewide drought emergency declaration, expanding an existing one to add eight counties that were not previously included.
“As the western United States faces a potential third year of drought, it is critical that Californians across the state redouble their efforts to save water in every way possible,” the governor said in a statement.
The previous emergency declaration was expanded Tuesday to include Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Francisco and Ventura counties, according to a statement from the governor’s office.
The statewide emergency declaration allows the governor’s office to help fund the drought response and water supply.
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A difficult year for California
1 of 17 | An image of Lake Phoenix, which is suffering the consequences of extreme drought. Look in this gallery for the most shocking images left by the lack of water in California. (Photo: David Paul Morris / Bloomberg) 2 of 17 | Added to the lack of water are the serious fires that California has suffered for months. (Photo: David McNew / Getty Images) 3 of 17 | A firefighter uses a radio in the Alisal fire in California. Several areas of the state have suffered serious fires so far this year. (Photo: David McNew / Getty Images) 4 of 17 | After California experienced its driest year on record in nearly 100 years, the entire state is now under a drought emergency. (Photo: ROBYN BECK / AFP via Getty Images) 5 of 17 | A firefighting helicopter drops water while the Alisal, California fire. The water year 2021 (which ran from October 1, 2020 to September 30, 2021) was the second driest in California. (Photo: David McNew / Getty Images) 6 of 17 | A firefighting plane drops fire retardant at the Alisal fire in California. The Colorado River Basin, a major supply to Southern California, remained dry in the water year 2021. (Photo: David McNew / Getty Images) 7 of 17 | An apocalyptic image that leaves one of the 8,000 fires that the state of California suffered in 2021. (Photo: David McNew / Getty Images) 8 of 17 | 2021 has been the ninth driest year in the last 127 years on record, according to the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS). (Photo: FREDERIC J. BROWN / AFP via Getty Images) 9 of 17 | The fires also damaged parts of Redwood Canyon, which is home to one of the largest redwood forests, as well as old-growth redwood trees. (Photo: David McNew / Getty Images) 10 of 17 | The entrance to the KNP Complex wrapped in aluminum foil to protect it from the flames. (Photo: PATRICK T. FALLON / AFP via Getty Images) 11 of 17 | Water use in Southern California has increased since July, when Governor Gavin Newsom asked cities to cut their use by at least 15% due to worsening drought. (Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP) (Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN / AFP via Getty Images) 12 of 17 | An abandoned boat on a dry part of the Oroville Lake bed in Oroville, California, in a September image. (Photo: EDELSON / AFP via Getty Images) 13 of 17 | Dry, cracked soil in an irrigation ditch next to a corn field on a farm in Fresno, California. Central Valley farmers desperate for water to irrigate crops amid severe drought. (Photo: ROBYN BECK / AFP via Getty Images) 14 of 17 | The Sequoia National Forest stalked by flames during a fire in September. So far in 2021, more than a million hectares have been burned in California. (Photo: David McNew / Getty Images) 15 of 17 | Lake Oroville in California is currently at 23% capacity and suffers from extreme levels of drought. (Photo: JOSH EDELSON / AFP via Getty Images) 16 of 17 | Several lakes in California, such as Oroville, lost much of their capacity due to lack of rainfall. (Photo: JOSH EDELSON / AFP via Getty Images) 17 of 17 | Water tanks, fire trucks and helicopters: Winegrowers in California’s Napa Valley are buying their own equipment to protect their properties and expensive crops from drought and fire. (Photo: NICK OTTO / AFP via Getty Images)
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California has had a difficult year, suffering from high temperatures and low rainfall. Both are factors that, combined with the existing climate change crisis, are contributing to a devastating wildfire season that has not ceased in months. The state is also experiencing its worst drought since the late 1800s, as measured by both a lack of rainfall and high temperatures, the governor’s office said.
The water year 2021 (which ran from October 1, 2020 to September 30, 2021) was the second driest in California according to state-level rainfall records, with 1924 being the driest, according to a report. from the state Department of Water Resources.
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“The water year 2021… was an extreme year in terms of temperature and precipitation, and it followed a water year 2020 that was equally hot and dry,” according to the report published in September.
“The Colorado River basin, a major supply for Southern California, remained dry in the water year 2021, and storage in Lakes Mead and Powell reached new all-time lows,” the report says.
The lakes are emptied
Lake Powell and nearby Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the country, have emptied at an alarming rate this year. The two reservoirs, fed by the Colorado River basin, provide a critical supply of drinking and irrigation water for many people in the region, including rural farms, ranches, and native communities.
By the end of July, Lake Powell had dropped to around 108 meters (just 33% of its capacity), according to the US Reclamation Office, below the previous all-time low set in 2005.
And in August, the federal government declared water shortages in the Colorado River for the first time, prompting mandatory cuts in water use for southwestern states, including California, Arizona and Nevada.
California alert declared for extreme water shortage 2:50
Since last week, the entire state of California has been under some form of drought, with some areas experiencing more extreme conditions than others, according to data from the US Drought Monitor.
With more than 45% of the state in the most extreme level of drought conditions, wildfires have become commonplace, razing hundreds of homes and businesses and burning vast amounts of land.
Fires add to drought in California
California firefighters have seen more than 8,000 fires this year, burning 1,009,761 acres so far, according to Cal Fire data. Currently, they face eight major active wildfires in the state, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
Santa Barbara County crews recently faced high winds while battling the Alisal fire, which at one point burned near a ranch owned by former President Ronald Reagan.
The fire, which devastated more than 6,800 hectares, was 97% contained Tuesday, according to county authorities. Shortly after the fire broke out, authorities were forced to shut down part of Highway 101 and the Amtrak railways in the area; they have since reopened. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
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Further north, the KNP Complex fire damaged parts of Redwood Canyon, which is home to one of the largest redwood forests, as well as old-growth redwood trees. Hundreds of those trees are believed to have been burned in that fire, which was started by lightning last month. The fire has grown to more than 35,000 hectares, with 55% containment as of Tuesday, according to fire officials.
And in July, crews began fighting what is now the state’s second-largest wildfire in history, the Dixie Fire, which destroyed more than 1,300 structures as it burned across nearly 390,000 acres. This Wednesday morning it was 95% contained, according to those responsible for the fire.
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