Those "grasses and shrubs" are also known as "fuels" when it comes to what feeds a wildfire.
"The fuels have been drying at a pretty exceptional rate this year. When compared to normal we're actually running two to three weeks ahead of scheduled in terms of fire weather season starting."
Tom Dang is a meteorologist with the National Weather Service
in Sacramento.
Dang says a low pressure system is moving through the Pacific
Northwest creating 30 mile an hour winds with gusts up to 45 miles
an hour in the Valley and 50 mile an hour gusts in the Sierra
Nevada.
Dang says thanks to some rain earlier this year - the high
winds are not creating a big fire hazard right now.
"We've received just enough precipitation to stave off red
flag warnings or fire weather watches at this point. But we're
certainly really speeding up the drying of our fuels."
Wind gusts could also cause power outages from downed tree
branches and difficult driving conditions. The winds are expected
to diminish by tomorrow afternoon.