The Big Burn: How To Survive the Age of Wildfires

As the world enters a new age of wildfires, science reporter Jacob Margolis dives deep into personal stories that illuminate the history of how we got here, why we keep screwing things up, and what we can do to survive and maybe even thrive while the world around us burns.

It’s easy to feel like we’re in a dark timeline. Waking up to smoke and flames, staring down a future of burned homes, lost forests, and orange skies. Over the past decade, California has been hit by nine out of ten of its largest fires on record. And even if you don't live in the state, you’re likely impacted by the fire crisis. A combination of climate change and poor policy decisions got us here.

So, is there anything we can do about this new age of devastating wildfires? Science reporter Jacob Margolis goes on a journey to figure out how we got here, why we keep screwing things up, and what we can do to survive and even thrive while the world around us burns. From LAist Studios, the creators of The Big One, this next installment of The Big Disaster series will provide you with a wildfire survival guide that includes not just tangible safety tips — but hope for our future.