US Wildfires Destroy Record 1.5 Million Acres
Wildfires so far this year, according to the National Interagency Fire Center has already doubled annual rate for the last ten years. And it’s only the end of March.
By March 27, 15,436 forest fires had broken out and 1,510,973 acres had burned. For the same period, the 10-year average was 9,195 and 664,792 acres were burned. The organization blamed much of the activity on the record-breaking heat blanketing the Western United States. He said the weather had made much of the U.S. unusually dry. “The dry and unusually warm weather expected for the remainder of March will cause these abundant fuels to dry out, which is historic for this time of year,” the organization said.
The drought problem is part of the 1,200-year drought announced in 2022. magazine Nature Climate Change. Many of the nation’s largest reservoirs have reached record lows. The two largest of these, Lake Mead and Lake Powell, provide water to millions of people and thousands of farms. The Hoover Dam on Lake Mead also provides electricity to much of the West. This year started with a difficult problem. SF Gate reported“Water levels in Lake Mead, America’s largest reservoir and California’s primary drinking water supplier, are declining and rising temperatures are causing outbreaks of toxic algae in the water, prompting federal officials to close hiking trails.”
Two weeks ago some cities in the West set temperature records nearly 30 degrees above normal; Phoenix is a particularly notable example. The earliest 100-degree day was declared on March 18, and conditions were ripe for storms. National Weather Service reported“Any storm that develops will produce strong and erratic winds and dry lightning, which could lead to the start of new fires.”
US Drought Monitor shows fields Today, parts of Colorado and Texas are experiencing exceptional drought.
US Geological Survey finds cause of wildfires $424 billion in damage on average annually, and in recent years “risks to human health and safety have increased.
Current conditions suggest that 2026 is heading towards a record year.
