Dense, black smoke climbs above the trees in Wrightwood, California, following the Blue Cut wildfire. The blaze, the cause of which is unknown, raged for seven days before finally being contained on 22 August.
The flames scorched more than 150 square kilometres of forest, destroying over 300 homes and buildings, and forcing 82,000 residents to evacuate.
“The number, size and severity of fires in California have been increasing since the 1980s,” says Mark Schwartz, associate director of the John Muir Institute of the Environment. “Headwaters Economics [an independent research company] estimates that the federal government now spends more than $3bn annually on wildfire.”
The fire started after five consecutive days of red-flag warnings from the National Weather Service. These are issued during periods of high temperatures, low humidity and erratic…
