California wildfires

 Inside Climate News -  A warming world is supercharging these fires, experts say. Climate change is causing rapid shifts between very wet years that accelerate the growth of scrubland grasses and brush, leading to what’s known as “excessive fuel loading,” that hotter summers and drier falls and winters turn into easily ignited tinderbox conditions. The area where the fires are burning had “the singularly driest October through early January period we have on record,” said climate scientist Daniel Swain during an online briefing last week.

It’s too soon to know the toll these fires have taken on wildlife, particularly wide-ranging carnivores like mountain lions. But biologists worry that the growing severity and frequency of fires is outpacing wildlife’s ability to adapt.

Wildlife living at the interface of urban development already face many challenges, and now these fires have deprived them of critical resources, said Beth Pratt, California National Wildlife Federation regional executive director. Animals that escaped the flames have lost shelter, water and food sources, all the things they need to survive, she said. The fires are even wiping out many of the plants butterflies and other pollinators need to feed and reproduce, she noted.