A changing climate, growing human populations and widespread fires contributed to the last major extinction event − can we prevent another?

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Emily Lindsey, University of California, Los Angeles; Lisa N. Martinez, University of California, Los Angeles, and Regan E. Dunn, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

(THE CONVERSATION) Over the past decade, deadly wildfires have become increasingly common because of both human-caused climate change and disruptive land management practices. Southern California, where the three of us live and work, has been hit especially hard.

Southern California also experienced a wave of wildfires 13,000 years ago. These fires permanently transformed the region’s vegetation and contributed to Earth’s largest extinction in more than 60 million years.

As paleontologists, we...