ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Wildfire

Do you know what happens when you leave a campfire burning for too long? It can start a really big fire, right? Well, sometimes that happens in big places where there are lots of trees and plants, and it's called a wildfire.

Imagine you have a really big piece of land covered in all kinds of different plants and trees. If it gets really, really dry outside and there's a lot of wind blowing, a tiny spark from a cigarette or lightning can start a fire. That's what happens with wildfires. The fire starts small, but because there's so much to burn and the wind makes it worse, the fire gets bigger and bigger.

People have to work really hard to put out these fires because they can destroy homes and hurt animals. Sometimes, they even hurt people too. So, it's important to always be careful with fire and make sure that we don't accidentally start a wildfire.