Heat, drought and fire: how climate dangers combine for a catastrophic ‘perfect storm’

The three conditions feed off each other to create a vicious cycle, demanding urgent action

Northern California's Dixie fire this weekend swelled to become the single largest fire incident the state has ever recorded, a mammoth that has leveled mountain towns, produced flames that shot 200ft in the air, and scorched through close to 490,000 acres.

It is just the perfect storm," says Rick Carhart, the California department of forestry and fire protection (Cal Fire) public information officer, adding that the difficult and steep terrain, parched vegetation, and hot, dry weather had all come together to fuel the conflagration that has sent flames 200ft into the sky.