As of Wednesday afternoon, California is contending with 16 major wildfires that have burned more than 300,000 acres, according to the Los Angeles Times. In recent years, the state has seen more frequent and damaging blazes, and spent ever greater amounts of its emergency budget fighting wildfires, according to statistics collected by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, also known as Cal Fire.
Increased development near wild lands, as well as higher temperatures and drier conditions caused by climate change, are to blame, experts say.
The largest of the ongoing fires is the Carr Fire in Northern California, which had burned more than 115,000 acres as of Wednesday. It’s already among the deadliest and most destructive blazes in recent state history, and it was only 35 percent contained as of Wednesday morning.
