Popular wildlife cam just became a dreadful fire cam

Hundreds of fires are burning in California. One of these many blazes, the Dolan Fire, is a grim scene on the normally pleasant explore.org wildlife webcams in the Ventana Wildlife Society's Condor Sanctuary, located some two miles from the Pacific Ocean in Central California. (The organization explore.org operates many livestreaming webcams, including the famous Alaskan bear cams). As of Thursday morning, smoke and flames were easily visible in the condor sanctuary. California's explosive fire activity has been largely driven by over 10,000 lightning strikes during a most inopportune time: A persistent heat wave (a "heat ridge of death") of rare intensity has settled over the West, drying out vegetation and creating ideal conditions for spreading flamesIt's an extreme weather event amplified by climate change. Read more...More about California, Climate Change, Fires, Science, and Climate Environment