Experts See New Normal as a Hotter, Drier West Faces More Huge Fires

Scientists said those blazes and 15 others that remained uncontained from New Mexico to California and Idaho were part of the new normal -- an increasingly hot and dry West, resulting in more catastrophic fires.

Pennsylvania State University climate scientist Michael Mann said there's an element of randomness in the current weather. Yet with all-time heat records in the past few years being broken at three times the expected rate, "there can be little doubt that climate change and global warming are playing a role."

Experts See New Normal as a Hotter, Drier West Faces More Huge Fires