Climate

As wildfires worsen, science can help communities avoid destruction

Roughly 3.5 billion people live where some of the most destructive fires have occurred

A house on fire

The Eaton fire killed 19 people and destroyed more than 9,000 buildings in January. It was one of the 14 wildfires that ravaged Southern California that month.

Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images

By Nikk Ogasa

Bright flecks of burning wood stream through the smoky air and toward a hapless house.