Drought, fire risk to stay high during third La Niña winter

FILE - A firefighter monitors a backfire, flames lit by fire crews to burn off vegetation, while battling the Mosquito Fire in the Volcanoville community of El Dorado County, Calif., on Sept. 9, 2022. Drought and wildfire risks will remain elevated in the western states while warmer than average temperatures will greet the Southwest, Gulf Coast and East Coast this winter, federal weather officials said Thursday, Oct. 20. (AP Photo/Noah Berger, File)