Few cities in California last week felt the full brunt of the climate crisis more than the small coastal town of San Clemente. The beach city at the southern end of Orange County for months has been dealing with widespread coastal erosion from El Niño-related Pacific storms that has threatened a crucial rail line and reshaped swaths of its beaches. Then, as the waves were still pounding, a fire broke out in the city’s bushy foothills Friday, quickly burning toward hillside neighborhoods and destroying homes in nearby San Juan Capistrano. San Clemente’s challenges demonstrate what more of California will probably face as the twin dangers of fire and coastal erosion converge this winter. Southern California is just entering its traditional fire season, and forecasters are predicting more coastal flooding and erosion from what is expected to be a severe El Niño winter.

Other El Niño news:

• SFGate: ‘Extremely’ hazardous old Orange County dam set for repairs ahead of El Niño
• KQED (San Francisco): What is a Kelvin wave? How El Niño can raise West Coast sea levels
• KJZZ (Phoenix): More rain is on the way this week in Arizona
• CBS8 (San Diego): City of Carlsbad releases water from Calavera Dam ahead of rain this week
• CBS Colorado: Some of Colorado should see a snowier-than-average winter; find out how Denver will stack up
• UC San Diego: Blog: 10 things to know about this very strong El Niño