People are betting on wildfires on Polymarket. What could go wrong?

A firefighter in Santa Clara County, California on July 26, 2026. | Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images This story appeared in Today, Explained, a daily newsletter that helps you understand the most compelling news and stories of the day. Subscribe here. The 2026 wildfire season on the West Coast is shaping up to be an especially bad one: In Oregon, more than 2 million acres have already burned, breaking a record set just a few years ago, in 2024. In neighboring Washington state, suburbs…