In the news this week: the US west's wildfire catastrophe explained

Read The Guardian's take on the current "unprecedented" environmental disaster taking place in the American West (a good start to get the facts).

To go further: this situation is a case study on the constant politicization and polarization of issues touching the environment in the US, and the catastrophic consequences of this nefarious dynamics. On this point, you can also watch Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti's defense of the city's management of the fires vs Donald Trump's criticisms (CNN, 3 mins) and read an opinion piece from The Washington Post: The West Coast is on fire. Why is Trump barely paying attention? (5 mins + embedded video)