How Supercomputers Can Help Fix Our Wildfire Problem

Fire doesn't care what it destroys or who it kills--it spreads without mercy, leaving total destruction in its wake, as California's Camp and Woolsey fires proved so dramatically this month. But fire is to a large degree predictable. It follows certain rules and prefers certain fuels and follows certain wind patterns. That means its moves with a complexity that scientists can pick apart little by little, thanks to lasers, fancy sensors, and some of the most powerful computers on the planet. We can't end wildfires altogether, but by better understanding their dynamics, ideally we can stop a disaster like the destruction of Paradise from happening again.