After a devastating wildfire season that reduced towns to ash and a heat dome that killed hundreds, climate breakdown is again threatening British Columbians, as torrential rain pummelled the province Monday, causing landslides and floods that destroyed key infrastructure and took at least one life. … While the full extent of what factors allowed the emergency to unfold is not yet known, it is expected wildfires that burned healthy forests contributed by reducing vegetation that could absorb moisture. … Ash settling on the forest floor can impact the watershed by affecting how much moisture can evaporate. Wildfires also … burn trees, meaning the roots are not absorbing moisture the way they previously did. … Those tree roots also help reinforce the soil, and when damaged, landslides become more common. Landslides can dam rivers and exacerbate flooding. In other words, what B.C. is experiencing is a lethal mix of cascading climate impacts.