Climate change allows wildfires to spread faster and burn more fiercely

Justin RowlattClimate editor The question is no longer why has so much land already burned this fire season, but why these fires have become so fierce and difficult to control. Part of the answer lies in the sequence of weather this year. An unusually wet winter encouraged abundant vegetation growth. A dry spring and early summer, followed by repeated heatwaves, then dried much of that vegetation into tinder. Grasses, leaves and small branches can ignite quickly, while the prolonged heat has als