Corporate broadcast TV news fails to make crucial connection between record-breaking California wildfires and climate crisis

Over the long Labor Day weekend, an explosive fire in the Sierra Nevada and record-shattering heat accelerated the climate crisis unfolding in California. The fires this season have already burned more acres than during any other year on record — and there are still several months left in the fire season.

The wildfire media coverage over the three-day weekend and into Tuesday included horrifying images, footage, and accounts from those on the ground, and awestruck reporters onsite and in studios casting around for language that properly conveys the scope and magnitude of what is happening in California. But the ample coverage has failed, with some exception, to tell the story of why it is happening, including the role our overheated planet has played in intensifying the wildfires.