Wildfires Prompt State of Emergency

Montana has declared a state of emergency as wildfires rage across the state. As of Sunday, 15 fires were burning nearly 228,000 acres.

Its neighbor, Idaho, had 12 burning, as the west continues to suffer from an intense wildfire season. Altogether, 57,935 fires have started this year, and in all, they have claimed 5.3 million acres of land, mostly in the Western United States, where drought, record heat and unusually small snowpacks in many mountain areas left the region prone to fire.

As of Sunday there were 41 active wildfires burning in eight states, all but one of which (New Jersey) was in the West. While no one fire can be linked to climate change, an increase in the intensity and frequency of wildfires is one result that scientists have predicted will come from global warming.

Why? Less snow in the mountains means less runoff in the spring, drier conditions all summer and when that is coupled with hotter summers, forests need nothing more than a spark to be set aflame.

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