Hurricane Hilary Is Colliding With California's Wildfires

Hurricane Hilary is barreling toward southern California, putting the storm on a collision course with several wildfires burning in the Golden State.

As a tropical storm, Hilary formed early on Wednesday and intensified into a hurricane by Thursday morning. It strengthened to a Category 4 early Friday morning with sustained wind speeds at 140 miles per hour. Winds are expected to weaken before hitting Baja California, Mexico, by this weekend.

Forecast models show the storm hitting inland California as a tropical storm overnight Sunday and into Monday. No tropical storm has made landfall in California with hurricane-force winds in recorded history.

In addition to posing risks such as wind damage, storm surge, floods, and landslides, hurricanes can cause wildfire flare-ups. Three wildfires on Maui grew out of control last week when they were spurred by Hurricane Dora's winds as the storm passed the island. The fires quickly consumed parts of the island, killing more than 100 people and severely damaging the historic town of Lahaina. The death toll is expected to rise as search-and-rescue efforts continue.

Fortunately, Hurricane Hilary will have the opposite effect in California, and forecasters anticipate that the storm will help firefighting efforts rather than hinder them.

"The rain from the storm will overspread the area long before any wind will," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Adam Douty told Newsweek. "That's going to essentially dampen everything. By the time any wind gets in those areas, any sort of fuel for the fires will be wet from all the rain."

Two wildfires burning in southern California stand to benefit from the rain, which also will saturate the area and "green up any vegetation" that could serve as fuel for future fires, according to Douty.

The Agua Fire in Santa Clarita is 100 percent contained but has consumed over 400 acres. The York Fire is of bigger concern. The fire has burned since July and consumed more than 93,000 acres. It is 98 percent contained, according to InciWeb, an interagency incident information management system. In early August, the York Fire crossed state lines into Nevada. Both fires could benefit from the rain.

A National Hurricane Center (NHC) forecast showed that heavy rain is expected in southern California as well as much of Nevada and parts of western Arizona. Some desert areas such as Palm Springs, California, could receive up to 20 times the average monthly amount of rain, threatening floods and washouts. Rain totals could reach 10 inches in some isolated areas, especially in Baja California, according to the NHC report.

Not only will the deluge aid current firefighting efforts, but it also will hamper any wildfire potential in the area over the next few weeks.

"In the long run, [Hurricane Hilary] is very beneficial for any sort of fire concerns in southern California," Douty said.