Axios

Fire officials are providing new details as to what caused the Carr fire, explaining that a minor car accident in June, caused by a trailer's tire failure, led its rim to scrape the asphalt and ignite sparks, resulting in one of the state's largest and most destructive wildfires on record, according to CNN.

The big picture: California has seen near-record dry vegetation and record heat which led to a ferocious "fire tornado" and propelled the fire across the Sacramento River and into the city of Redding. California's severe wildfire season follows last year's devastating blazes, which ranked as the state's worst fire season on record. The Carr Fire is 41% contained and spans 141,825 acres as of Saturday, according to Cal Fire. The death toll from the fire is now at eight people, per the AP.

James Clapper, director of national intelligence under President Obama, cites "the range of issues that arise from climate change" as a national security threat not receiving sufficient attention:

"Half of the world’s population will face water shortages by 2035, according to the U.N. More than 30 countries — half of which are in the Mideast — will experience extreme water stress by 2035."

The Securities and Exchange Commission is dropping its two-year investigation of ExxonMobil, about whether it misled its investors with regard to the risks greenhouse-gas regulations pose to the company.

Why it matters: This is a significant victory for the oil giant, which is still facing pressure from multiple attorneys general investigations and lawsuits related to its actions and climate change. The news also bodes well for the industry writ large, given any affirmative action by the SEC in this case could have had broad implications.

Liquified natural gas (LNG) is on the list of products targeted by planned retaliatory tariffs on $60 billion worth of U.S. goods announced by China on Friday morning, Reuters reports.

Why it matters: Hitting U.S. LNG exports is one of China's "last major weapons from its energy and commodities arsenal" in the escalating trade war with President Donald Trump, they report.

Global solar and wind installations have reached one trillion watts (1 terawatt) in capacity, recently released BloombergNEF (New Energy Finance) analysis shows.

The big picture: This milestone accounted for installations that have occurred over the past 40 years, with 90% having been installed within the past 10 years. Product and installation costs for wind and solar energy have fallen significantly since the 1970s, in part because of innovations in technology, integration and access.

The fire whirl, or fire tornado, that swept into Redding, California on July 26, appears to have had winds as strong — if not stronger than — an EF-3 tornado, according to the National Weather Service.

Why it matters: The Carr Fire now ranks as one of the state's largest and most destructive wildfires on record. The extreme fire behavior exhibited on July 26 allowed the blaze to jump a natural fire break — the Sacramento River, and enter the city of Redding. So far, the fire has claimed at least 6 lives.

The future of electric vehicle adoption, in the U.S. but elsewhere too, remains bound up with Tesla even as other automakers bring more and more models to market.

Why it matters: Tesla's stock got a boost after decent second quarter financials and a renewed pledge to be profitable later this year. But Tesla's long-term health is a question mark as it ramps up production of the Model 3 sedan.

As the world's climate changes, heat waves may become difficult for people to tolerate in certain parts of the world — and this could have an impact on the global economy.

Why it matters: Economies that are heavily dependent on extractive industries — such as mining, oil and gas drilling, and agriculture — could find themselves at a disadvantage if particular climate change projections become a reality, according to a new report by the risk analysis firm Verisk Maplecroft.