Penn State University assistant professor, Matthew Hurteau, has made a 90-second video explaining how climate change is fuelling more forest fires. Accompanied by beautiful visuals, Hurteau describes how climate change has "primed the pump" for wildfires by reducing snow packs and causing record prolonged droughts while at the same time fire suppression tactics over the past 100 years have made conditions ripe for forest fires.
Over at Mother Jones, Hurteau and several other climate scientists explain in more depth why climate change is related to forest fires. Because warmer air holds more moisture, it seems counter-intuitive that a warming climate could result in drier conditions. The explanation is that climate change is producing extremes - extreme humidity and moisture and extreme dryness - which help forest fires thrive. The article, which is laid out in a friendly Q&A format, goes through other such inquiries in an easy-to-digest way.