Megafire. It's a new term in the climate change lexicon.

These are wildfires burning at a high intensity, which cover more than 100,000 acres each.

And we are seeing more and more of them.

Today we're exploring what is causing these megafires, the damage they are unleashing on life,

property, and natural ecosystems, and how forest management techniques can provide solutions

to this increasingly devastating problem.

Welcome to Climate One, changing the conversation about energy, economy, and the environment.

Climate One conversations are recorded before a live audience and hosted by Greg Dalton.

I'm Claire Shone.

Music shown. The American West is on fire.

Of the 20 largest wildfires in California history, 15 happened since the year 2000.

And damage from Western wildfires in 2017 alone cost $18 billion.

The higher temperatures and lower humidity brought on by climate change are whipping up hotter and bigger wildfires.

What it does, it just sucks out moisture out of fuel. So if you actually make fuel drier,

you're just going to be able to burn it easier and have higher intensity, more flame lengths.

That's Scott Stevens. He's a professor of fire science at the University of California, Berkeley.

He's an expert on wildfires and is written about managing fire and forest in the changing

climate.

Stevens talked to our host, Greg Dalton, at a recent Climate One event.

Lizzie Johnson was part of that conversation as well.

She covers wildfires as a reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle

and understands the toll that these fires are taking.

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