California IN BRIEF : SACRAMENTO : Firestorm Summer Fails to Appear

The fifth summer of drought stirred fears of firestorms, but losses have been so slight that 1991 looks like the mildest fire season on records dating to the 1940s, fire officials said. Firefighters, who once said they feared what 1991 might bring, have now dubbed it “the year that summer forgot California.” Wildfires normally would have roared across more than 104,700 acres in California by now, but unusually mild weather has helped hold losses to about one-tenth of the average for the previous five years, state fire officials said. The toll of more than 12,750 acres is 93% below last year’s loss by this time, fire experts said.