https://science.feedback.org/review/wildfires-in-la-influenced-by-santa-ana-winds-and-dry-vegetation-climate-change-a-likely-factor-contrary-to-viral-misinformation/ As severe wildfires spread in Los Angeles in early January 2025, so did misinformation about what caused them. As these wildfires grew to be the most destructive on record for the LA region, many people on social media tried to target a single cause, blaming anything from arson to climate change. But they all got one thing wrong: wildfires can’t be blamed on one factor alone. As scientists explain, wildfires occur when several conditions align: ignition, continuous fuel, drought, and appropriate weather. 👇 Check the comments section for a comprehensive article about wildfires and their complex causes. The ignition source that started the fires is still under investigation. But despite what sparked the fires, early analyses from climate scientists suggest that both climate change and natural weather variability worsened the severity of the fires by drying out vegetation which served as fuel. Climate scientists from UCLA explain that the exceptionally fast Santa Ana winds – hot dry winds that pour in from the desert – at the start of the wildfires were the final ingredient which powerfully stoked and spread these devastating wildfires. In a recent study led by World Weather Attribution, leading climate scientists in the field of extreme event attribution concluded– with high confidence – that human-induced climate change increased both the likelihood of the LA wildfires and the intensity of the Fire Weather Index (FWI) – an index used worldwide to measure fire intensity/danger.