Climate Changed
California Enters Peak Fire Season With Delaware-Sized Burn Scar
- Scorched land already more than areas torched in all of 2017
- October traditionally sees worst of deadly California fires
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California is poised to set an annual record it never wanted to break: the amount of earth scorched by wildfires.
Blazes have already ripped through enough acres to blacken the entire state of Delaware, and what’s typically California’s worst month for fires is just beginning. At least 11 people have died this year from wildfires that shut down Yosemite National Park, drove thousands from their homes and destroyed more than 2,000 buildings. And forecasters say prospects for rain are slim.