Thinking harder and smarter about wildland fire

The West Coast is on fire, quite literally. From the dry chaparral scrublands of Southern California to the grass and oak woodlands of California’s Wine Country to the lush coniferous forests of Oregon, Washington, and Colorado, late summer and early fall wildfires are setting records for their scale, intensity, and destructiveness. In California alone, some 4 million acres—more than twice the all-time record set in 2018—had burned by the start of October, only partway through the traditional “fire season.” And the fire season itself is lasting longer.