When I toddled off to bed last night, we'd had a total of about a third of an inch of rain over the past couple of days, and the radar didn't show any more coming. So it was a very pleasant surprise to wake up this morning and discover that overnight we'd had quite a bit more rain -- almost another half inch -- for a total of 0.75 inches (19 mm) in the past two days. And it is raining nicely as I write this.
Now to you folks who don't live in the desert, that may not seem like a lot of rain. For the high-desert chaparral, though, to have this much rain right as our traditional fire season starts means a significant dimunition in the fire danger, for a least a week or two. All the abundant fuel in the chaparral (the dead twigs, leaf litter, etc.) has now been thoroughly wetted, and will not easily catch fire via wind-blown embers. This is the primary mechanism by which chaparral fires spread, so wet fuel is a big deal. And to dry the fuel out after this much rain will take a prolonged period of dry weather -- hence the several weeks of safety purchased by this rain.
Yahoo for the rain!
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