Wildfires in Southern California

It supposedly rained last night here in Phoenix:

"Drought Ends! A Lot of Stuff Happened During Phoenix's 103 Days Without Rain" http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/lots-of-stuff-has-happened-during-phoenixs-rainless-streak-9927860

But I guess I missed it. & this morning I was out doing work in my backyard & I sure didn't notice it either. I even had to water some of my plants & trees since it was 75 degrees outside & still dry.

Of course, it's been dry in California as well, which is why several wildfires have exploded across southern California:

https://www.livescience.com/61118-why-ventura-wildfire-is-so-explosive.html

"A disastrous combination of tinder-dry vegetation, the strongest Santa Ana winds in a decade and a spark caused a wildfire to explode in Ventura County, California, north of Los Angeles, overnight Monday (Dec. 4). Less than 24 hours later, the blaze had torn through more than 45,000 acres and destroyed 150 structures, with windy conditions hampering efforts to combat the flames.

While not unprecedented, such winds and wildfires are somewhat unusual this time of year, as the wet season has usually kicked in by now, quashing the potential for fires to start and spread, said Eric Boldt, the warning-coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Los Angeles. But dry weather this year left conditions primed for the Thomas fire and other blazes that have broken out in the Los Angeles area."

With its massive population, Los Angeles is in a precarious situation if these wildfires continue to spread.  

As far as here in Phoenix, I was happy last week when I saw the weather forecast for this past weekend and I actually saw rain. But of course there was no rain.

On the other hand, there is no area in the U.S. in more need of rain right now than southern California. Yet this article makes the highly-problematic point that climate change may actually keep future rains away:
https://www.theverge.com/2017/12/6/16742496/california-la-ventura-thomas-rye-creek-fires-drought-water-climate

"California will burn until it rains — and climate change may keep future rains away"

"...they found that as the sea ice melts, the Arctic warms — starting a chain reaction that ultimately helps these atmospheric ridges form over the North Pacific, blocking rain from falling on California. That doesn’t just make drought more common, it’s also possible that it could also make fire seasons last longer.

The findings, described in a new study published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications, are a hint of what’s to come — but they’re not a prediction of the future, Cvijanovic cautions. Other shifts in air pollution, greenhouse gasses, and even volcanic activity over the coming decades could also change how much rain falls on California. (In fact, another recent studysuggests climate change could make California wetter.)."

Earlier, I'd been watching CNN's coverage of the southern California wildfires:









...but its website also has live updates & videos: 
http://www.cnn.com/2017/12/06/us/ventura-fire-southern-california/index.html