Climate study warns California’s fire season is starting earlier each year
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s home in Montecito, California, is facing mounting risks as wildfires become a year-round threat.
A new study published in Science Advances warns that climate change is pushing California’s fire season earlier, with blazes now starting up to two months sooner than in the past. For the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who live in the hillside community with their children, the findings place their multimillion-dollar estate directly in a high-risk zone.
Nestled between the Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean, Montecito is especially vulnerable due to “live fuel moisture” — the dryness of living vegetation that fuels fires. The study concludes that “fire is now a year-round hazard, instead of a seasonal threat,” signalling a permanent change in the state’s landscape.
The danger is already evident this year. The Gifford Fire, which broke out on 1 August, has become California’s largest wildfire of 2025.
Harry and Meghan, whose property features nine bedrooms, a pool, tennis court, and five acres of gardens, have previously expressed solidarity with first responders. In January, the couple met with Pasadena’s mayor and emergency crews tackling the Eaton Fire, where they thanked firefighters and visited families who lost their homes.
