Why does California have so any wildfires? There are four key ingredients to the disastrous wildfire seasons in the West, and climate change is a key culprit.

“In pretty much every single way, a perfect recipe for fire is just kind of written in California,” Dr. Williams said. “Nature creates the perfect conditions for fire, as long as people are there to start the fires. But then climate change, in a few different ways, seems to also load the dice toward more fire in the future.”