On California’s fall fire days — days with high temperatures and wind speeds, as well as low humidity — all it takes is a spark from a downed power line to start an inferno. New research indicates that they’re about to become a lot more common.
Seventy wildfires are charring parts of a half-dozen states from coastal California to the Rocky Mountains as smoke turns the sky red and dread dominates.
In 2018, Paradise, California, was almost completely destroyed by the worst wildfire in state history. Now local leaders are proposing an ambitious scheme to protect the town from future blazes.
