Fire and rain: West to get more one-two extreme climate hits

By SETH BORENSTEIN
AP Science Writer

A new study says the West is going to get more one-two punches of nasty wildfires followed by extreme rainfall as the world warms. Friday’s study says these combinations, which can lead to mudslides and flooding, will increase eight-fold in the Pacific Northwest and double in California by the year 2100 in a global warming worst case emissions scenario. Study authors say events like 2018’s Montecito mudslide that killed 23 people, where heavy rains followed a Santa Barbara fire, will become a frequent occurrence. It’s due to changes from global warming in both rainy and fire seasons.