The wild is the biggest factor but it's a known issue for this area. This is why some fire fighters and old school foresters have warned of the possibility of an event like this.

Desalination is expensive. That's the issue. The root issue with water is that it's not a market good in California. Price is highly controlled. IMO that's the root issue. I don't see that changing. I just wish both sides of the water debate would be more honest about tradeoffs. To be fair, the farmers are pretty honest. They acknowledge the environmental impact but the other side seems to want to ignore the growing demands for more water.

They instead focus on climate change which is great for them since it is something they can't solve and can blame on others.