California’s heat wave fueling destructive fires. The worst is yet to come, officials fear

Wildfire activity has also been intensified by the compounding effects of climate change, which have made fires larger, more disastrous and burn for longer periods of time, according to UC Merced fire scientist Crystal Kolden, a former firefighter with the U.S. Forest Service.

Whereas a heat wave of this length and magnitude would typically occur in July in previous years, Kolden said it’s significant that the current one hit between late August and September.