Climate change made L.A. fires more likely — and increases chances for future blazes

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1. The Palisades and Eaton Fires are among California’s deadliest and most destructive wildfires on record, with at least 28 killed and over 16,000 structures destroyed.

   “All the pieces [were in place](https://www.sfchronicle.com/weather/article/california-fires-drought-cause-20024928.php) for a wildfire disaster — low rainfall, [a build-up of tinder-dry vegetation](https://www.sfchronicle.com/weather/article/hydroclimate-whiplash-wildfire-california-20034331.php), and strong winds,” said UCLA professor of geography Park Williams, in a statement. The fires are nearly contained as of Tuesday.

   Climate change also made the Los Angeles blazes more likely, according to a [rapid analysis](https://www.worldweatherattribution.org/climate-change-increased-the-likelihood-of-wildfire-disaster-in-highly-exposed-los-angeles-area) by World Weather Attribution, an international group of scientists. The study reports that continued global warming will further increase the chances for similar events in the future.

   “Without a faster transition away from planet-heating fossil fuels, California will continue to get hotter, drier, and more flammable,” said author Clair Barnes, a World Weather Attribution researcher at the Centre for Environmental Policy at Imperial College London, in a statement.

   Read more: [https://www.sfchronicle.com/weather/article/la-fires-climate-change-20058539.php](https://www.sfchronicle.com/weather/article/la-fires-climate-change-20058539.php)

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