The West Coast of the United States and specifically the state of California has always faced the threat of wildfires, but in the most recent decades, wildfires have become more and more intensive and destructive.
Recent wildfires have expanded far along the West Coast, with images of the smoke blanketing the West Coast seen from space satellites in what looks like a white cloud covering the entirety of the state of California.
The LA Times reports that so far in the wildfire season, which is still at is beginning stage, 2020 has already broken a record, with 3.2 million acres having burned already.
Residents of California have posted on social media the orange color of the sky and clouds that have blanketed California and other West Coast states, in images that look like a scene out of sci-fi or horror movie.
As wildfires in California and the West Coast have intensified, more wildfires are reaching toward heavily populated areas where wildfires were not common in past decades.
Many scientists and researchers are pointing to climate change as one of the main reasons that wildfires have become increasingly frequent and destructive. Record heatwaves in California have also intensified the range and power of the wildfires. 
According to the Accuweather website, the combination of very dry winter months and not a lot of precipitation in the winter and spring made California prime territory for wildfires this season.
Air quality has caused a lot of the West Coast of the U.S. to be covered in an orange hue. Wildfire smoke can spread harmful particles that can cause inflammation when inhaled.
Many other news sources, such the LA Times, ABC News and Accuweather say that California is far from being in the clear from wildfires as the Santa Ana winds have not come in yet. The Santa Ana winds brings warm air currents from the south up through California which help to feed some wildfires.
Firefighters in California have been exhausted due to the fires that have been raging for two months thus far. With the coronavirus pandemic still at high levels in the United States and in Canada, containing the wildfires has been more difficult than in recent years.
With many fires raging across the state of California, the amount of deaths from the wildfires has amounted to more than 30, with many more people missing.
Wildfires continue to rage across California, Oregon, and Washington state, with the fires having scorched an amount of land larger than the size of New Jersey.
            Gov. Jay Inslee of Washington, Gov. Gavin Newsom of California, and Gov. Kate Brown of Oregon have all come out publicly stating that climate change has been the major driving force for the intensity of the wildfires.
 “It’s maddening right now [that] we have this cosmic challenge to our communities, the entire West Coast of the United States on fire, to have a president deny that these are not just wildfires, these are climate fires,” said Gov. Jay Inslee to ABC’s “This Week” program.
President Trump, according to Al Jazeera, plans to go to California to meet with federal and state officials. He has also stated that the wildfires are due to poor forest management.
Presidential candidate Joe Biden stated that the wildfires were undeniably connected to climate change, and said “climate change poses an imminent threat to our way of life.”