The Cause of the LA Fires Might Never Be Known—but AI Is Hunting for Clues

The source of more than half of all wildfires in the Western US remains unknown, so the US Forest Service has teamed up with computer scientists to create tools that can find answers.

This story originally appeared on Grist and is part of the Climate Desk collaboration.

What’s shaping up to be one of the worst wildfire disasters in US history had many causes. Before the blazes raged across Los Angeles last week, eight months with hardly any rain had left the brush-covered landscape bone-dry. Santa Ana winds blew through the mountains, their gusts turning small fires into infernos and sending embers flying miles ahead. As many as 12,000 buildings have burned down, some hundred thousand people have fled their homes, and at least two dozen people have died.

As winds picked up again this week, key questions about the fires remain unanswered: What sparked ...