From K-QED. A few weeks ago I woke up in the middle of the night to a distant rumble.

Flashing light lit up my bedroom and I wondered am I dreaming could this actually be a

storm? I grew up on the East Coast where thunderstorms are just a regular part of

life and to be honest there's something about

them that I kind of miss. So at first I was just mesmerized by the streaks of

lightning that were flashing over the hills in the distance,

and I stood by my window and watched the storm,

and I was just really savoring it.

But then came this unsettling feeling.

I remembered how dry it is outside, how lightning strikes start fires, and I started

to worry.

In just the past three days, there have been nearly 11,000 lightning strikes all across California.

Out of those lighting sparks, over 370 new fires have ignited.

Some merged, eventually forming two of the biggest

wildfires ever to burn in California history. Some homes in Vacaville are

burning from a fast-moving wildfire that had already charred thousands of acres in Napa,

Sonoma, and Salano counties.

It's been two weeks and those fires are still burning today.

Now the tough pill to swallow in all this is we still

have months left in peak wildfire season so there's a chance that we're just

getting started.

Today in the show, we've got a two-parter for you.

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