Park Williams in The Los Angeles Times: With water running out, California faces grim summer of dangerous heat, extreme drough

While Southern California prepares for severe drought restrictions, the summer forecasts predict a summer marked by record-breaking temperatures, harsh landscapes, and above-average risk for large wildfires, particularly in the northern section of the state. 

“The dice are loaded for a lot of big fires across the West,” said Park Williams, a climate scientist at UCLA. “And the reason for that is simple: The vast majority of the western U.S. is in pretty serious drought.”