Wildfire Rage Continues

Wildfires in southern Georgia, California and Minnesota continued to rampage today, as firefighters slowly gain the upper hand. While Santa Catalina Island off the coast of California reopened for tourists this weekend, the fire that has claimed 365-acres of Florida and Georgia forest continued to send so much smoke into the air that a major highway was shut down. Minnesota firefighters struggled to contain a fire in the tinder-dry north. The patchy drought across the country, which has helped fuel these fires, is also taking a bite out of the Florida citrus crop, with orange production expected to be at its lowest point since 1990. Scientists say that wildfires will become more common and intense as the climate continues to warm, because mountain snowpack will decrease, leading to drier forests prone to fire. The Daily Green Community has submitted a number of photos of wildfires. To view some, click here, here or here. To submit your own photo to the Weird Weather Watch photoblog, email weather@thedailygreen.com.