When we talk about the onrushing crisis for our only planet, we mostly concern ourselves with the water. We talk about rising sea levels that threaten our cities, or warming oceans that bleach coral reefs, or hurricanes that drop water in the trillions of gallons. But we don't talk often enough about the fire.
This month, California has sent that part of the discussion roaring back to life, as two wildfires—one in the state's north and one in the south—have ripped through normally beatific towns and landscape, razing them to the ground with the force and pace of a swirling, pre-apocalyptic inferno.
In the north, the blaze that's come to be known as the Camp Fire is now the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in the state's history. 63 people are confirmed dead. 631 are now missing.
The fire has burned across 138,000 acres, and required the intervention of 5,600 firefighters and 23 helicopters to get it 35 percent contained. It has turned towns to ash and rubble, sometimes in the space of a few hours. Cars are reduced to hollowed-out twists of metal. Air quality across much of the state has also been severely affected. In the south, the Paradise Fire has killed two more, bringing the death toll to 65 since last week.
There is little doubt that the destruction was significantly exacerbated by altered environmental conditions linked to our changing climate.
