A firefighter in Santa Clara County, California on July 26, 2026. | Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images This story appeared in Today, Explained, a daily newsletter that helps you understand the most compelling news and stories of the day. Subscribe here. The 2026 wildfire season on the West Coast is shaping up to be an especially bad one: In Oregon, more than 2 million acres have already burned, breaking a record set just a few years ago, in…
As large parts of Europe have been ravaged by wildfires this summer, a controversial prediction market is allowing users to place bets on wildfires. American politicians see it as a dangerous trend and fear it is fueling arson.