LA residents rushing to flee wildfires this week faced choke points, gridlock and the tough decision of whether to abandon their cars to the fire.

The wildfires that destroyed homes in multiple sections of the Los Angeles area will test California’s efforts to stabilize the state’s insurance marketplace after many insurers stopped issuing residential policies due to the high fire risk.

Though wildfires have always happened, warming global temperatures are making them more frequent and severe. For instance, scientists calculated last year that our overheating planet has contributed to a 172% increase in areas burned by wildfires in California since the 1970s.