Across the world, communities are currently battling historic wildfires that are yet the latest signs of global warming, a reality most recently addressed in the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) report. The report, which is the work of more than 200 scientists worldwide, warns that without dramatic measures to reduce greenhouse emissions, Earth will warm by 1.5 degrees celsius in the next two decades, causing more extreme weather events.

The Dixie Fire ignited on July 14 in Northern California and has burned 487,764 acres, destroyed nearly 900 structures, and was 25% contained as of August 10. It is now the second-largest overall fire in California history and the largest single fire on record in the state, according to USA Today, which also noted that only the August Complex Fire in 2020 burned more land than Dixie to date.

According to Cal Fire, more than 16,000 structures are under threat of the Dixie Fire as evacuation warnings remain in effect in Butte and Plumas counties. And although the cause of the wildfire is still under investigation, PG&E suspects it may have started when a tree fell on a utility power line, Reuters reported.