The Park Fire in California now ranks as the state's fourth-largest blaze on record, surpassing the SCU Lightning Complex from 2020.
Why it matters: The record shows how a mixture of long-term climate change, short-term weather conditions and land management can combine to produce a rapidly spreading and massive blaze.
Why it matters: The research makes clear how every tenth of a degree of warming matters, and decisions made to cut emissions now could reverberate for centuries.
Dozens of massive wildfires burning across the western U.S. have forced thousands to evacuate, and forecasters warn another potentially record-breaking heat wave will trigger further fire risks.
The big picture: Some 88 large fires burning across the West are impacting air quality. Among them is a wildfire in Colorado that authorities said Wednesday killed one person and California's fifth-biggest blaze on record, the Park Fire.