[6] California's August Complex fire has been described as the first "gigafire", burning over 1 million acres across seven counties, an area larger than the state of Rhode Island.

[3][2] The intensity of the fire season has been attributed to a combination of more than a century of poor forest management[7][8] and higher temperatures resulting from climate change.

In early September 2020, a combination of a record-breaking heat wave and strong katabatic winds, (including the Jarbo, Diablo, and Santa Ana) caused explosive fire growth.

The North Complex explosively grew in size as the winds fanned it westward, threatening the city of Oroville, triggering mass evacuations, and causing 16 fatalities.

[13] Governor Newsom's request for a federal disaster declaration for six major wildfires was approved on October 17, 2020 after having been rejected the previous day by the Trump administration.

[2][4] From a historical perspective, the average annual acres burned prior to 1850 were probably significantly larger than years since reliable fire records began.

[22] Wildfires have been aggressively suppressed in recent years, resulting in a buildup of fuel, increasing the risk of large uncontrollable fires.

[22] A 2020 ProPublica investigation blames a combination of climate change and a history of insufficient controlled burning for the increase in "megafires.

[24][9] David Romps, director of the Berkeley Atmospheric Sciences Center summarizes the situation as follows: "To cut to the chase: Were the heat wave and the lightning strikes and the dryness of the vegetation affected by global warming?

A huge body of attribution literature demonstrates now that climate change is an absolute game-changer when it comes to heat waves, and California won't be the exception.