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That s how old that chapparel is. reporter: the outlook is ominous. take a look at this map. almost the entire state of california is above normal for potential wildfire threat. this summer we re going to have a very volatile fire season. our fuel moistures typically don t get to critical stages until the fall, when we have santa ana wind events. but we project that those fuels will be at that critical state no later than july this summer. that s certainly bad news. dan simon joins us live. what s the latest on the fire right now? reporter: well, thankfully, crews seem to be getting the upper hand on this wildfire. it s said to be about 40% contained officially but they expect those numbers to go up tonight. a couple of reasons for that. they have been fighting this fire very aggressively on the ground and by the air, as you saw in that story and also, the wind has died down for the most part. still kicks up now and then, but seems to be looking pretty good. the main concern, t ....
We have into this, including night air attack. reporter: the weekend winds really complicated the efforts, as did the terrain, which is steep and rugged. this is an extremely old and dry fuel. 1929. that s how old that chapparel is. reporter: the outlook is ominous. take a look at this map. almost the entire state of california is above normal for potential wildfire threat. this summer we re going to have a very volatile fire season. our fuel moistures typically don t get to critical stages until the fall, when we have santa ana wind events. but we project that those fuels will be at that critical state no later than july this summer. that s certainly bad news. let s go to raw politics. the investigation into alleged irs abuses is heating up and getting nastier. as you know, congressional ....
But hundreds of properties have been saved. firefighters using every tool in their arsenal to fight this fire on land and by air around the clock. we have put everything that we have into this, including night air attack. reporter: the weekend winds really complicated the efforts, as did the terrain, which is steep and rugged. this is an extremely old and dry fuel. 1929. that s how old that chapparal is. reporter: the outlook is ominous. take a look at this map. almost the entire state of california is above normal for potential wildfire threat. this summer we re going to have a very volatile fire season. our fuel moistures typically don t get to critical stages until the fall, when we have santa ana wind events. but we project that those fuels will be at that critical state no later than july this summer. that s certainly bad news. let s go to raw politics. the investigation into alleged irs abuses is heating up and getting nastier. as you know, congressional investigato ....
And possibly australia. but that s basically what does it. the speed at which this thing has grown, it just seems so rapid. is it moving fast? is it stronger than other fires like it around this time of year? oh, definitely. it s very unusual to have a santa ana wind this early in the year. they do occur in the wintertime but they re not a factor due to the fuel moistures. our fuel moistures are extremely low right now. they re normally about where they are now in august. so we ve got very dry brush, we had a very high wind event with high temperatures and low humidities in the single digits and that spells a real recipe for fire. for the firefighters, what is the biggest challenge at this point? well, there are several. civilian safety, civilians that are involved in the fire area, firefighter safety, structure protection and the environment. and in terms how do they ....
And possibly australia. but that s basically what does it. the speed at which this thing has grown, it just seems so rapid. is it moving fast? is it stronger than other fires like it around this time of year? oh, definitely. it s very unusual to have a santa ana wind this early in the year. they do occur in the wintertime but they re not a factor due to the fuel moistures. our fuel moistures are extremely low right now. they re normally about where they are now in august. so we ve got very dry brush, we had a very high wind event with high temperatures and low humidities in the single digits and that spells a real recipe for fire. for the firefighters, what is the biggest challenge at this point? well, there are several. civilian safety, civilians that are involved in the fire area, firefighter safety, structure protection and the environment. ....