The western United States and Canada are in the midst of an unprecedented heat wave, with Portland, Oregon reaching a record-breaking high of 112 degrees Fahrenheit just yesterday.

The intense heat combined with drought are creating dangerous wildfire conditions. “We’ve gone from fire seasons to fire years,” says Carrie Bilbao, public affairs specialist at BLM Fire at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho.

Carrie Bilbao joins us today to talk about her work investigating fires, the drought on the West Coast, and how Americans can become more “fire-wise” to prepare for increasingly frequent and intense wildfires.

Cover photo: “Severe Drought Highway Warning Sign” by Tony Webster, licensed under CC-BY SA 2.0