Wildfires scorching the West Coast are a growing risk for homeowners nationwide
CBSN
Americans facing the toughest housing market in years aren't just grappling high property prices and rising mortgage rates, but are increasingly at risk of natural disasters, such as floods, tornadoes and wildfires — no matter where they live.
Amid the worst drought in at least 1,200 years, large parts of the American West are battling wildfires. California's largest wildfire this year, the Oak Fire, is threatening Yosemite National Park during the park's busiest season, while fires in Colorado have forced thousands to evacuate.
Wildfires are getting more intense and more frequent due to climate change, which is drying out vegetation and making fires more likely to spark and burn longer.

We share our planet with maybe 10 million species of plants, animals, birds, fish, fungi and bugs. And to help identify them, millions of people are using a free phone app. "Currently we have about six million people using the platform every month," said Scott Loarie, the executive director of iNaturalist, a nonprofit.

At ski resorts across the West this winter, viral images showed chairlifts idling over brown terrain in places normally renowned for their frosty appeal. Iconic mountain towns like Aspen, Colorado, and Park City, Utah, were seen with shockingly bare slopes, as the region endured a historic snow drought that experts warn could bring water shortages and wildfires in the months ahead. In:











