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The combination of a bone-dry winter, an early and rapid spring snowmelt, and a forecasted anomalously hot summer raises the risk of intense fire activity across the region, he said.

With the meager snowmelt, the country’s two largest reservoirs will probably decline further this year, and could approach critically low levels that require additional cuts in water deliveries in the next couple of years.

The earlier snowmelt in many areas will probably mean that soils and vegetation in the mountains dry out earlier, which could lead to increased wildfire risks in the coming months, Swain said.

Lake Oroville, the largest reservoir that feeds the State Water Project, is now 95% full and is expected to continue rising as snowmelt runs off the Sierra Nevada.

Both reservoirs are expected to completely fill in the spring as they are replenished with snowmelt and runoff from rains.