By — Mori Rothman Mori Rothman By — Hannah Yi Hannah Yi Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/california-wildfires-take-toll-firefighters Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Transcript Audio A fire that burned through 58 square miles and destroyed 103 residences in southern California last week is now 83 percent contained, even as six other wildfires continue burning around the state. The NewsHour Weekend's Mori Rothman reports the toll that the constant alarms are taking a toll on firefighters. Read the Full Transcript Notice: Transcripts are machine and human generated and lightly edited for accuracy. They may contain errors. MORI ROTHMAN: Battalion chief Mike Brown has been fighting fires in California for 26 years. But he's never seen a fire quite like the Blue Cut Fire in southern California's San Bernardino county, 60 miles east of Los Angeles. MIKE BROWN: It was like an angry fire. These were 50 to 100 foot flame lengths, and I was just amazed to see the volume of the fire. MORI ROTHMAN: In an ever lengthening wildfire season, Brown is dispatched to fires like this more often — for days at a time. This is his second wildfire in two weeks. MIKE BROWN: Fires are year round, and we've kinda come to the point that we understand that it's a year round fire season for us. MORI ROTHMAN: California's wildfire season traditionally began in the summer, when vegetation dried out, and forests became more flammable. But five years of drought and hotter than average temperatures, have shrunk the break between one year's fire season and the next. Drier conditions also contribute to the rapid spread and destructiveness of the fires. MORI ROTHMAN: What makes a fire like this so dangerous? MIKE BROWN: The reason why it's so dangerous is the intensity that it's burning. The vegetation was very dense. We had 70 year brush that hadn't been burned. No fire history in this area. Everything was in alignment. MORI ROTHMAN: Volatile conditions like those in the Blue Cut Fire are becoming more common in other parts of the state — like the Cedar Fire at Sequoia National Forest last week.Thousands of firefighters have been battling massive wildfires across California this summer, and experts warn this year could be worse than ever. That's because drought, intense heat and tree-eating beetles are causing a dramatic rise in the number of dead trees, turning forests like this one into a tinderbox.Paul Gibbs is a spokesman for the US Forest Service. PAUL GIBBS: We've never seen anything at this level and this type of mortality in recorded history that we have. To have 50 to 75 percent of your forest and dead trees — that's unprecedented. MORI ROTHMAN: Last week, Gibbs deployed to the "cedar fire" in central california to study how the dried out trees fueled the blaze. He says the weather pattern "El Niño" — which typically means wetter conditions for northern and southern california — mostly missed central california. With less rain, grasses and logs dried up earlier in the summer, creating more tinder for fires. MORI ROTHMAN: People thought maybe El Niño would make this year's wildfire season a little calmer. Has that been the case? PAUL GIBBS: No, no, we're seeing just the opposite. We did get a pulse of rain, so we have a very healthy grass crop this year. But as we get temperatures in the 90s and over 100, 105, the grass dies. Then you have a combination of the dry grass, which will carry fire and start fires a lot easier. MORI ROTHMAN: Gibbs is looking for that combination of dry grass and dead trees — hoping to anticipate where the next big wildfire might spark. PAUL GIBBS: I think we're in store for a pretty active fall. But we've already got folks who've been out for a few days and have to start worrying about fatigue of firefighters, and really pace ourselves because then you realize this is a more like marathon race than a sprint. MORI ROTHMAN: A marathon that's become the new normal for firefighters like Mike Brown. MIKE BROWN: We've had numerous fires over the last few months. We have crews coming off of fires, you know coming on to this fire. So crews are taxed we have families that are taxed, so it's been cumbersome not only for firefighters but their families as well. Listen to this Segment Watch Watch the Full Episode PBS NewsHour from Aug 21, 2016 By — Mori Rothman Mori Rothman Mori Rothman has produced stories on a variety of subjects ranging from women’s rights in Saudi Arabia to rural depopulation in Kansas. Mori previously worked as a producer and writer at ABC News and as a production assistant on the CNN show Erin Burnett Outfront. @morirothman By — Hannah Yi Hannah Yi Hannah Yi is a Producer with PBS NewsHour Weekend. Her responsibilities include producing, shooting and editing for the show. Previously she was a Producer for the national PBS news magazine show Need to Know. She also worked for the ABC News Longform Documentary Unit and on the CNN show Anderson Cooper 360°. Hannah earned her M.S. degree from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and her B.A. degree in Communications and English from the University of Pennsylvania. @hannahyi