Mount Whitney (R) and other alpine peaks of the High Sierra Nevada mountains are seen devoid of the snow packs that normally last throughout the summer as potential wildfire-producing lightning storms approach the region on July 18, 2021 near Lone Pine, California. At 14,495 feet, Mount Whitney, the tallest peak in the United States outside of Alaska. Authorities are bracing for a predicted driest year on record for the Kern River, carrying only about a quarter of the average Sierra snowmelt water to Lake Isabella. Large portion of the West are now in the most extreme drought category and fire officials are warning of another devastating wildfire season in California.