California Wildfires as Global Warming Harbinger

No, global warming didn't cause the Southern California wildfires. The fire-prone region has been burning for centuries because it is hot and dry.

But at least one study has linked climate change with an increase in the duration of the seasonal Santa Ana "Devil Winds" that fueled these fires, and a range of studies suggest the hot and dry conditions in Southern California will be increasingly common in other parts of the West -- making fires more common and intense there as well. Remember, this is the driest year in Southern California history, a reminder that drought is a key condition for wildfire.

The San Fransisco Chronicle today lays out the evidence:

• Less snow, an earlier onset of spring and a delay in the onset of winter all mean there will be less snow in the mountains. Less snow means less runoff, means drier conditions throughout the fire season.
• Drier and hotter forests are more vulnerable to invasive plants and insects, which may weaken forest plant life, making it burn more easily.
• Lightning strikes -- which often are the ignition switch for fires -- could increase about 6% if the level of carbon dioxide doubles.
• There were four times as many major wildfires between 1986 and 2004 as there were from 1970 to 1986, and a six-fold increase in the area of forest burned in the Western United States. Scientists linked that change primarily to global warming, even factoring in forest management practices that have left tinder-dry fuel littered across forested landscapes. Many western fires are getting bigger, reaching higher temperatures and killing more trees as well.

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