Watch Video: The Science of California Megafires
A firefighter watches as the Bobcat Fire burns in Juniper Hills, California, in 2020. (Credit: Ringo Chiu/Shutterstock) Sign up for our email newsl...
A firefighter watches as the Bobcat Fire burns in Juniper Hills, California, in 2020. (Credit: Ringo Chiu/Shutterstock) Sign up for our email newsletter for the latest science news The Thomas Fire, which ranks as one of the largest wildfires in California history, was a sign of things to come. Sparked by power lines, the conflagration burned some 281,800 acres in December 2017, a month that normally lies outside of wildfire season. 'There's a new normal,' says Michael Gollner, head of the Berkeley Fire Research Lab.