Why California is having its best wildfire season in 25 years

Lunder, who has worked for the past 25 years developing fire mapping and fire behavior models, said that as the climate has warmed, some public officials and climate activists have given the incorrect message that every year is going to be catastrophic. But local weather conditions like wind, lightning, soil moisture and availability of firefighting resources are still key, he said.

“I don’t think you’ll find any firefighters who will say climate change isn’t changing the dynamics,” he said. “But it’s not predictable, and it’s not across the board.”