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A firefighter works to put out a structure burning during a wildfire in Laguna Niguel, Calif. (AP photo/Marcio J. Sanchez)

LAGUNA NIGUEL, Calif. – A sprawling estate selling for $9.9 million had looked in real estate listings like a California dream: teeming with luxuries that included a two-level library, a “wellness wing” with sauna and steam room and a pool on a terrace overlooking scenic Laguna Beach.

Recently, however, the mansion morphed into a nightmare, its arched facade silhouetted against a glowing yellow sky as firefighters trained hoses on the engulfed structure.

After the flames died down, the house was one of many smoking casualties left marked off with yellow tape. In another driveway, a burned-out car rested on its rims. The steep surrounding hillsides were blackened and stripped of vegetation.

Wildfires are on a furious pace early this year – from the California hilltop where mansions with multimillion-dollar Pacific Ocean views have been torched to remote New Mexico mountains charred by a month-old monster blaze.

The two places could not be more different, but the elements in common are the same: Wind-driven flames have torn through vegetation that is extraordinarily dry from years-long drought exacerbated by climate change.

As the unstoppable northern New Mexico wildfire chewed through dense forest, firefighters in the coastal community of Laguna Niguel doused charred and smoldering remains of 20 large homes that quickly went up in flames and forced a frantic evacuation.

Nationwide, more than 2,000 square miles have burned so far this year – the most at this point since 2018, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Predictions for the rest of the spring do not bode well for the West, with the drought and warmer weather brought on by climate change worsening wildfire danger.

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