[4] Early in 2016, The National Interagency Fire Center predicted that conditions from May through at least August would put much of the western United States in above-normal wildfire danger.

[5] In June, the United States Forest Service estimated that over 26 million trees had died across 760,000 acres (310,000 ha) in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

This brought the number of dead trees to over 66 million during the past four years of drought.

[6] A day later, on August 16, San Bernardino County announced that nearly 85,000 people were evacuated because of the Blue Cut Fire near Cajon Pass.

[7] Authorities arrested a 40-year-old man in connection to the Clayton Fire, and charged him with 17 counts of arson.