SAN FRANCISCO—In a year that has already brought apocalyptic skies and smothering smoke to the West Coast, California set a grim new record on Oct. 4 when officials announced that the wildfires of 2020 have now scorched a record 4 million acres—in a fire season that is far from over.
The unprecedented figure—an area larger than the state of Connecticut—is more than double the previous record for the most land burned in a single year in California.
