By Patty Guerra, UC Merced, and Shawn Vestal, Washington State University September 3, 2025 Lightning ignited than 600 fires in California in 2020. Lightning from thunderstorms rolling through Central California on Sept. 2 ignited numerous wildfires, including several large fires in the Sierra Nevada foothills that had burned more than 19 square miles by Wednesday morning. The California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services recorded more than 9,000 lightning strikes in a single day. Ligh...
