Wildfire threat darkens California dream, residents say

(Reuters News, 14 Nov 2019) As more powerful wildfires threaten more people, the Golden State may be losing its shine, some residents say,

Kinsey Metts moved to California for its wilderness and great outdoors. Now she wants to leave for the same reasons.

This autumn's rash of destructive wildfires - predicted to grow worse in coming years as climate change strengthens - is threatening to shatter the California Dream that has long lured people to the state, drawn by its sunny weather and opportunities for a better life.

With increasingly powerful fires ripping through northern and southern California again and again, the question of leaving is now on plenty of people's minds.

Metts, on maternity leave with a nine-week-old son, was forced to evacuate her rural Geyserville home, in the wine country north of the San Francisco Bay area, when the October Kincade fire tore through the hills behind it.

"We've loved our life here," said Metts, who works for a non-profit helping at-risk children. "We love the outdoors and to backpack and kayak."

"But I don't know if I want to stay here anymore. It just feels like it's getting worse and worse," she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

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Reuters News, 14 Nov 2019: Wildfire threat darkens California dream, residents say