![California wildfires burning hotter, spreading faster than ever, scientist says](https://cbsnews1.cbsistatic.com/hub/i/r/2021/08/17/fa4871c0-58d0-4000-a53f-6e5c034ba061/thumbnail/1200x630/2f601fd209b5c55ccdfe9dcfc456d9e1/gettyimages-1234725042.jpg)
California wildfires burning hotter, spreading faster than ever, scientist says
CBSN
San Jose, California — The director of San Jose State University's Fire Weather Research Laboratory on Wednesday told CBS San Francisco wildfires across the state are changing in historic ways — and not for the better.
The fires burning across California are burning hotter and spreading farther faster this fire season. "The main reason that these fires are getting so large so quickly is the fact that the fuels are so dry. We have unprecedented dryness in our forests because of the drought. And that leads to more heat release. And with more heat release, they spread faster," said SJSU Professor Craig Clements.![](/newspic/picid-6252001-20250214202746.jpg)
Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a high-stakes meeting at this year's Munich Security conference to discuss the Trump administration's efforts to end the war in Ukraine. Vance said the U.S. seeks a "durable" peace, while Zelenskyy expressed the desire for extensive discussions to prepare for any end to the conflict.
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Washington — The Trump administration on Thursday intensified its sweeping efforts to shrink the size of the federal workforce, the nation's largest employer, by ordering agencies to lay off nearly all probationary employees who hadn't yet gained civil service protection - potentially affecting hundreds of thousands of workers.
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It was Labor Day weekend 2003 when Matt Scribner, a local horse farrier and trainer who also competes in long-distance horse races, was on his usual ride in a remote part of the Sierra Nevada foothills — just a few miles northeast of Auburn, California —when he noticed a freshly dug hole along the trail that piqued his curiosity.