Surprise! Storms result in reduced fire danger

Here's one positive byproduct of this week's storms: Officials say the rainfall and snowfall have reduced the fire danger — at least in the forests. From City News Service:

The U.S. Forest Service, noting that most of the local mountains are buried under snow, lowered the official fire danger two notches today. More than 25 inches of snow have fallen on the highest elevations of the San Gabriel Valley, the Forest Service said, but noted that arid areas have received scant rainfall. The official fire danger thermometer was adjusted from "very high," past "high," to "moderate."