From the Center for Investigative Reporting in PRX, this is Reveal.

I'm Al Etzin.

For the last few weeks, millions of acres across the United States have been burning.

Dozens of large wildfires raging across the West.

Some of the biggest are right here where I live.

There was even something I'd never heard of, a fire NATO.

Others are burning out of control all over California to be the biggest fires in state

history.

Nearly 11,000 lightning strikes were reported.

Heavy winds spread flames across the state, fast moving flames, raging out of control.

Turning more than 1500 square miles into an apocalyptic hellscape.

Here in the San Francisco Bay Area, it's like we're living in a ring of fire.

Even indoors, you can often smell smoke from nearby fires.

And where those fires end up can literally depend on which way the wind blows.

I'm in an area where the fires are burning on three sides, to the north, to the east,

and to the south.

That's Danielle Venton from Public Radio Station KQED.

These fires have killed at least seven and destroyed thousands of structures across nearly

a million acres.

That many really large fires burning simultaneously.

That's a new experience for me.

Danielle's a science reporter.

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