A ‘perfect storm’ set Hawaii ablaze. Experts say it could happen almost anywhere

The advancement of wildland and urban conflagrations is being accelerated by global warming, Pyne said, which is like “putting the system on steroids.” But he added that worsening wildfires are also influenced by the ways in which humans interact with the landscape, manage agriculture and organize their cities and economies, among other choices. “It’s not just that it’s either land use or climate that’s affecting it — they’re both being shifted by our conversion to fossil fuels and fossil biomass” such as asphalt, plastics and petrochemicals, he said. “My sense is that that has accelerated what I regarded as a slow-motion Pyrocene into a fast-maturing one.”