Overcast in a bright, glum-looking afternoon here on a small bit of California’s north coast — plenty of shine without much sun, though, you’re going to need shades.

Although we’re in a fog-funk along the shoreline, eastward there’s been plenty of activity — yesterday, reportedly 2,600 lightning strikes occurred across northern California’s forested interior, and from those sparks supposedly 33 fires in 6 different national forests in the region.

A current overview on forest fire activity can be found at Lost Coast Outpost this afternoon, including the 37-acre Bald Fire off Bald Hill Road, about 50 miles northwest of me.
According to forecasts from the National Interagency Fire Center: ‘Above normal significant wildland fire potential is expected for portions of northern California in June….‘

(Illustration: Mats Petersson‘s ‘Firewatch‘ series, found here).

Risk from wildfires for property/casualty insurance risk is fairly-high, too — from MarketWatch this morning:

“Worsening drought conditions in the western states indicate that 2015 has the potential to be one of the most devastating wildfire seasons on record. The number of wildfires in California alone in the first five months of 2015 is up 54 percent over the five-year average for the same time period, says Neil Spector, president, Underwriting, Verisk Insurance Solutions.
“It’s more important than ever for insurers to be prepared and manage their wildfire risk effectively.”

Risk and insurance — chaos brothers.