Climate change turning the dial on Calif. wildfires
By Stefan Becket, CBS News
The deadly wildfires ravaging Northern California have destroyed more than 3,500 homes and businesses, leveling entire neighborhoods and forcing thousands of residents to flee the flames.
At least 40 people have died in the blazes, which have burned 265 square miles of land and rank among the most destructive in California’s history. The wildfires kicking off California’s fire season come after millions of acres in the western U.S. went up in flames over the summer.
Experts say fires like those burning up Wine Country will be more frequent, more intense and last longer as global temperatures rise. While no single fire can be said to have been caused by climate change, variations in temperature and precipitation are already affecting the complex dynamics that determine how wildfires develop and spread.
Gov. Jerry Brown laid the blame squarely at the feet of climate change on Wednesday.
