Fire seasons are becoming hotter, drier and longer

[sue4e3]

The fast-moving brush fire tearing through the Santa Clarita Valley this weekend is part of a larger trend: Wildfire seasons in the western United States are lasting longer and burning more land, according to a recent report by the U.S. Department of the Interior.

Over 29,000 wildfires have scorched more than 2.6 million acres of land already this year, and the peak of the fire season hasn't hit yet, according to the report published last week.
Last year's fire season was the most severe on record, burning more than 10 million acres - roughly twice the size of Massachusetts.
Rising global temperatures and unrelenting drought contribute to the longer fire seasons. Average annual temperatures rose by 1.9 degrees Fahrenheit in the last decade, and snowpacks are now melting up to four weeks earlier in the year, leaving landscapes drier and causing fire seasons to start sooner.


Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2016-07-seasons-hotter-drier-longer.html#jCp

[OnlinePoker]

1. Last year was nowhere close to an annual record

That happened around 1930 when over 50 million acres burned. Due to fire suppression, fuel supplies built up and when a bad fire hits now, it becomes a scorched earth scenario. Recognizing fire as a necessary part of forest life, a lot of fires are now left to burn if they aren't endangering life or property (and I believe if they were naturally caused). This has resulted in an increase in fire size but will bring a more balanced forest ecosystem in the long run. This year, as of today, the number of fires is the second lowest in 11 years and the number of acres burned is the fourth lowest (and well below the 2006-2015 average).

http://www.fs.fed.us/research/sustain/criteria-indicators/indicators/indicator-316.php
http://www.nifc.gov/fireInfo/nfn.htm