Heavy rains in California have worsened the threat of forest fires this summer because they stimulate the growth of grasses which then turn paper dry, helping to spread fires through trees and brush weakened by five years of drought and by invasive insects. The area at risk is about a third of the US mainland, but the threat is most extreme in California. In California, where more than half the state lives below sea level, scientists are warning that wildfires could become even deadlier as climate change makes conditions hotter.
Heavy rains in California have worsened the threat of forest fires this summer because they stimulate the growth of grasses which then turn paper dry, helping to spread fires through trees and brush weakened by five years of drought and by invasive insects. The area at risk is about a third of the US mainland, but the threat is most extreme in California. The severity of the threat and a lack of equipment has prompted an aggressive program by authorities: putting out the smallest wildfires before they spread, deploying firefighters to where lightning storms are forecast, and clearing areas by setting controlled fires.