. >> marina davidson is a biologist specializing in e coming and evolution. >> that's our team. now, let's do some science. welcome to techknow. guys, i've got some stats for you. california is currently having the driest year in 90 years. over 60% of the west is in a drought. now, when it's that dry, there is one danger that really comes to mind. >> that's: wildfires. as common as these are, it has not with been until recent years that scientists understood how they move and how to save fight them. . >> california's governor declared a state of emergency wildfire. >> i want to make sure that the researchers are deployed. >> summer, 2014, in america's west is under fire. making national t.v. headlines for both the size and ferocity of the burns. >> fire world emerging from the parched hillside. >> the end of fire season is nowhere in sight. >> we are seeing near unprecedented drought. so what that means is we have seen the beginning of fire season much earlier. some even say that last fire season truly never ended. and we are going to probably see this fire season extend much lo