California: Fires Burn at "Exponential Rates" Amid Blistering Heat Wave and 5-Year Drought

Wildfires are raging up and down the state of California. At least two people have died, and hundreds of homes have been destroyed. We speak to Ken Pimlott, the director of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and a 30-year fire service veteran. He joins us from Sacramento, where temperatures hit 107 degrees on Monday, one degree shy of the record.

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Ken Pimlott: The most damaging fires—actually, about half of the state’s largest, most damaging fires have occurred just in about the last decade. And so, we’re seeing a significant change. Fire seasons may ebb and flow from year to year, but the trend is larger, more damaging fires and more acres burned