What's driving Maui's devastating fires, and how climate change is fueling those conditions

A dangerous mix of conditions appears to have combined to make the wildfires blazing a path of destruction in Hawaii particularly damaging, including high winds, low humidity, and dry vegetation.  

Experts also say climate change is increasing the likelihood of more extreme weather events like what's playing out on the island of Maui, where at least six people have been killed and a historic tourist town was devastated.  

“It's leading to these unpredictable or unforeseen combinations that we're seeing right now and that are fueling this extreme fire weather,” said Kelsey Copes-Gerbitz, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of British Columbia's faculty of forestry. “What these ... catastrophic wildfire disasters are revealing is that nowhere is immune to the issue.” 

Here's a look at the Maui fires, and what's behind them: