Firefighters fear disaster ahead as heat transforms landscape: ‘The driest I’ve ever seen’ [Los Angeles Times :: BC-CALIF-WILDFIRES-FIREFIGHTERFEARS:LA] LOS ANGELES – At Oak Flat Fire Station in the Angeles National Forest, veteran firefighters are already getting a bad feeling about this year. There has been so little rain, and rising temperatures caused by climate change have made the landscape drier than they’ve ever seen — ready to combust with the smallest spark. They’ve watched the rugged mountains of the forest around the Castaic station change before their eyes, from a place of seasons to a place that seems like it is in perpetual summer. And with homes encroaching farther into the terrain each year, there are more people in harm’s way.