With parts of Los Angeles County still smoldering from wildfires, the expected rain this weekend would seem like a welcome relief. But how the rain falls could make the difference between a disaster respite or a disaster repeat.

Tuesday's report, too rapid for peer-review yet, found global warming boosted the likelihood of high fire weather conditions in this month's fires by 35% and its intensity by 6%.

As Southern California gets some much-needed rain, a new analysis suggests the conditions that led to January's wildfires were 35 per cent more likely because of human-fuelled climate change. And the more likely those fires become,