Years of bizarre fires in California provide clues to recent events in Maui and Canada

Ordinary pattern of fires inverted, explains expert on trees and woodfires. The higher the water content, the stronger the heat. Glass and metal melted, houses completely incinerated, yet flammable pines and other trees standing right next to those houses left virtually untouched. Plastics and synthetic fabrics also tend not to be burned.

Interview by Peggy Hall.