Forest Fire Frequency
National news has been saturated with stories of highly damaging forest fires in recent years. From Paradise, California to the Colombia River Gorge, fires in the Western United States and beyond are happening more frequently and causing more damage than in previous years. Megafires have also affected the Appalachians, Oklahoma and other states in the south.
According to research published by Nature Communications, fire season length has increased by 18.7 percent, and the area affected by wildfires has increased by 108.7 percent from 1979 to 2013. The length of fire season isn’t the only alarming stat. According to NASA, 61% of western fires have occurred since 2000.