Though this year's fire season in California hasn't yet reached the level of destruction of the past two years, that could change soon. A prolonged drought, which is drying up vegetation and fueling a seemingly endless fire that has burned more than 250 square miles of Los Angeles County, could be the start of a fall siege in Southern California. "You can have a fire go through the same area, and the damage to a forest is always more significant in drought years," says Del Walters, CA State Forester and director of CalFire.