[5] The quieter fire year was received gratefully by state officials and was highlighted by multiple news outlets, which attributed the downturn in severity largely to fortunate weather patterns, such as well-timed precipitation and favorable wind conditions.
[6][5] Officials were also quick to suggest that a contributing factor might have been several billion dollars invested in wildfire resilience projects, such as prescribed burning and community outreach.
After a wet October and December in the beginning of the 2022 water year, California experienced the driest January–February period on record in the state, with similar conditions continuing in March.
The Northern California Geographic Coordination Center (commonly called 'North Ops') forecast stated that "Confidence is moderate to high for an early start to the significant large fire season.
PG&E pleaded guilty to 84 counts of involuntary manslaughter in the Camp Fire, shortly before the company exited bankruptcy in June 2020.
On March 15, 2022, Politico reported that United States Forest Service (USFS) officials had warned California employees that there had been "50 percent fewer applications submitted for GS3 through GS9 firefighting positions" compared to 2021, in part because of low pay, housing issues, and high cost of living.
Chief Moore cited competition in the labor market, including with private, county, and state organizations, such as Cal Fire, as a major reason for the hiring challenges.
[23] In February, their Drought Severity and Coverage (DSCI) index, which measures cumulative dryness, was at 275, or nearly twice the 20-year average of approximately 146, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
[29] Beginning with the advent of the U.S. Forest Service's '10 AM policy', in which it sought to extinguish all fires by 10 AM the morning after their report, the primary method of wildfire management in California has been suppression.
California, as with other areas of the United States and the world, has experienced a growing amount of human development into the wildland-urban interface, or WUI.