Climate Change Is Making Wildfires Burn Longer and Wider

Wildfires have always been a natural part of life in the western United States and Canada. However, as this region grows hotter and drier, wildfires are growing in size, ferocity, and speed.

The hazardous air pollution that wildfire smoke creates can spread far beyond the region burned. In summer 2023, smoke wafting down from nearly 900 wildfires tearing through Canada triggered air quality alerts that affected as many as 70 million people across the eastern United States.

And then there’s the destruction on the ground.

In recent years, California has been particularly prone to conflagrations. With record dry, hot conditions across the state, seasonal high winds (known as Diablo in Northern California and Santa Ana in the southern part of the state) caused wildfires to grow and spread at an unprecedented rate.

A series of fires that tore through Southern California in January 2025 killed 30 people and caused more than $250 billion in damage and economic loss. UCLA researchers concluded that an abundance of vegetation dried out by abnormally high temperatures fueled the devastating blaze.

And it’s not just California. Oregon, Washington, and Colorado have also seen explosive fires that have forced thousands to evacuate, claimed lives, and destroyed homes and businesses.

Why is this happening?

Human activity is causing rapid changes to our global climate that are contributing to extreme weather conditions.

When fossil fuels are burned for electricity, heat, and transportation, carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that traps solar radiation, is released into our atmosphere.

Over the past century, massive increases in carbon dioxide, methane, and other greenhouse gas emissions have caused the temperature on our planet to rise. That spike in global temperatures is fueling climate disasters that will only get worse unless we take action. Experts warn that we are running out of time to dramatically cut pollution to avoid climate catastrophe.

What is Earthjustice doing to help?

Americans across the political spectrum are feeling the urgency of our climate deadline and calling for action on a scale that matches the threat. We need bold and equitable climate solutions to move towards a pollution-free, 100% clean energy future.

Our attorneys use the law and partner with communities on the frontlines to tackle the climate crisis. Here are a few examples of the goals we’re working on and the progress we’ve achieved:

• Move beyond fossil fuels. Earthjustice has secured the retirement of coal plants generating more than 65,000 megawatts a year and stopped the buildout of more than 8,500 megawatts of methane gas. This work has prevented $16.9 billion a year in climate-related costs.

• Clear the way for clean energy. We level the playing field and ensure that utilities, regulators, and grid operators don’t discriminate against clean energy. For example, we won a legal victory against monopoly utilities in the South who had set up an energy market that effectively propped up gas and coal and excluded independent clean energy generators.

• Electrify our economy. Transportation generates more greenhouse gas emissions than any other economic sector in the U.S. Advocacy by Earthjustice and our partners has pushed 10 states home to 100 million people to adopt a zero-emission trucks rule. California, which has the power to shape national industry standards, has also committed to electrifying locomotives and public buses. And at the federal level, we’ve helped secure billions in funding to electrify ports, school buses, and USPS mail trucks.

• Make sure everyone benefits by centering environmental justice and expanding access to clean energy in every community. We supported Puerto Rican advocates in securing $1 billion in federal funding to bring rooftop solar power to low- and moderate-income communities across the territory. This investment will help households keep the power on when hurricanes strike – and we’re fighting for additional funding so that everyone in Puerto Rico can have reliable, safe, and affordable energy.

• Take on the next frontiers. To name just a few efforts, we’re protecting climate forests, promoting climate-smart agriculture, stopping the petrochemical buildout, and challenging dirty hydrogen and carbon capture projects that prolong the use of fossil fuels.

This fight to preserve a livable planet touches everyone. Together, we can drive transformative change in service of the earth and justice for its people.

Learn more about how climate change is fueling extreme weather.