From KCRW in Santa Monica and PRI, Public Radio International, this is To the Point.

First, the inferno, now the cleanup. What then?

Hello again, I'm Armin Alney, and this is To the Point. The blazes in Northern California are being called firestorms, hurricanes, and

blizzards of flame. They've been compared to a blowtorch. In a state where wildfires are

hardly uncommon, experts say civilian casualties and property loss are historic like nothing they've

ever seen. Survivors are warned that debris is too toxic to allow digging for beloved possessions.

Smoke and ashes are causing health problems for miles around.

What caused the fires? Why did they spread?

Can the next ones be prevented?

Later on today's talking point, cutting back on university research is a ticking time bomb for America's economy

and its lead in science and technology.

First, here's the news.

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Hello again, Warren. I'm back with To the Point. Wildfire is all too familiar in the Golden State,

but last week's record-setting blazes in Northern California left behind something new.

More property damage over a wider area with more civilian casualties than ever before. We had about likely causes,

the struggle to clean up, and the possibility of prevention. Today's talking point, starting before

the Trump administration, federal support for basic research at public universities has been on

the decline. Scientists of the caliber to win Nobel Prizes are going someplace else.

...