CNN News:美国加州野火持续肆虐 气候变化争论再起

We're getting you caught up today on something that's caused catastrophic damage on parts of California, wildfires. Firefighters are currently battling at least 10 of them across the state. That includes the Mendocino Complex Fire, the largest wildfire in California's history.
Wildfires are usually named for the location or landmark near where they start and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protections says the Mendocino Complex Fire which started on July 27th could take until September to get contained. That doesn't mean it will be out by then, but that it's likely to be cut off, prevented from spreading further.
This fire alone has burned more than 302,000 acres in Northern California. In area, it's larger than the city of Los Angeles. And it's not the only one. The Carr Fire is another blaze that's scorching the northern part of the state. Parts of Yosemite National Park in Central California have been shut down by the Ferguson Fire. And the Holy Fire, which started at Holy Jim Canyon last week has forced evacuations in Southern California.
These disasters are stretching across the state. Officials don't know yet what caused all of them, some of them blamed on arson. What is known is that tens of thousands of people have had to flee their homes, several school districts have had to cancel classes, and dry conditions and hot temperatures have combined forces to fuel the flames.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, cnn METEOROLOGIST: Wildfires happened every year. This is nothing new. But what is new and very troubling is the fact that fire season is lasting longer and burning more acres.
The Forest Service even estimates that fire seasons are now 78 days longer on average than they were back in 1970. The U.S. burns twice as many acres as it did three decades ago and Forest Service scientists believe the acreage burn may double again by mid-century. This is a devastating trend and many factors have come together to create a perfect storm.
One, more and more people have moved out west and houses are being built in fire hazard zones.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I didn't realize how much my home means to me.
CHINCHAR: Engineering has allowed for people to build in beautiful and more remote wildfire prone areas. And people have added more vegetation, better known as fuel, too close to their homes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know what I'm going to do. I can't think right because everything is burned down to the ground.
CHINCHAR: Two, the wildfires are creating their own weather, making them more erratic, explosive and more difficult to predict. For example, the Carr Fire in July of 2018 had such intense heat inside those flames that it created pyrocumulus clouds. These look and act just like thunderstorms, producing lightning and powerful winds in different directions. Not only spreading the fire to additional locations, but also triggering brand new fires.
AZUZ: Another factor, California had a lot of rain last year. That caused what some called a super bloom of vegetation, which in turn could help wildfires spread. There are some debate about whether climate change plays a part in this. Many scientists suspect it does.
And Michael Mohler, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, blames climate change for the current wildfires. He says there's no other way to explain the explosive fuel conditions that come with increased winds and higher temperatures.
U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke says the wildfires have nothing to do with climate change, but instead with forest management, that California should do more to get rid of the dead and dying trees from the state's forest before they become wildfire fuel. Regardless of the causes, if places like these continue in the years ahead, fire officials say they'll cost California billions of dollars more to deal with.