Fierce, frequent, climate-fueled wildfires may decimate forests worldwide

FILE PHOTO: One of many homes destroyed Friday night from the Bobcat Fire is seen in Juniper Hills, California, U.S., September 18, 2020. Picture taken September 18, 2020. REUTERS/Gene Blevins

LONDON (Reuters) - Wildfires among ponderosa pines and Douglas firs of the U.S. West have long been part of nature's cycle of renewal, as much as the changing of the seasons.

But as climate change makes the region more arid, wildfires have grown more frequent and ferocious. Scientists worry the hottest blazes could end up obliterating swathes of some forests forever.