California is facing a critically dry year. America’s most populous state received only half its average amount of rain this spring, making 2021 the third-driest year it has ever recorded. The dry conditions raise fears the state could see another devastating wildfire season, mere months after some of the worst blazes in the state’s recorded history scorched 4m acres from north to south. Officials, researchers and policy analysts are calling on communities to get ready. “It is going to be another smoky summer,” said Craig Clements, a professor and director of the Wildfire Interdisciplinary Research Center at San Jose State University. …Drought maps used by federal agencies now show swaths of the west blotched in darkened hues of orange and red, used to denote “extreme” and “exceptional”, the highest drought levels. …The California department of forestry and fire protection (Cal Fire) is already preparing.