BACK IN THE NEWS: This article was originally posted on August 27, 2020, but is relevant today.

On August 24, 2020, The Wall Street Journal printed an article by Ian Lovett “California Wildfires Grow as Responders Brace for More Blazes.”  Mr. Lovett states that California has dealt with a series of devastating fire seasons in recent years, which scientists say is in large part due to climate change, as hotter temperatures dry out vegetation, making it more likely to burn.

In a new Science & Policy Brief, Jim Steele, Director emeritus of San Francisco State’s Sierra Nevada Field Campus, responds with a more accurate assessment for the trend in California wildfires and what Californians must do to reduce the damage caused by wildfires.