7 New Wildfires Spring Up; Idaho In State Of Emergency

With 54 large wildfires burning across the country -- including seven new fires since yesterday -- the fire season is keeping up with the extreme pace of the last several above-average years. Seven new fires started yesterday -- one each in Alabama, Arizona and Montana, and two each in California and Utah.

Scientists say increased wildfire activity is one of the most likely consequences of unchecked global warming. Some studies indicate fire activity in recent years is also a result, in part, of changes in the climate, and the future should bring more intense and frequent fires as mountain snow dwindles and moisture with it, and as summer heat intensifies dry spells. So far, 63,267 fires have burned 6,509,401 acres, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.

Montana and Idaho are the most seriously challenged currently, and Idaho this week declared a state of emergency to smooth the transfer of manpower and equipment to the fire-ravaged areas. But the national fire-fighting infrastructure is so strained that many fires are expected to keep burning until winter weather squelches them. Here's a quick look at where the fires are burning, and how much of each state is on fire:

State .. No. Fires .. Acres Burned
Alabama ...... 1 ..... 300
California: ... 3 ...... 223,262
Florida ......... 1 ...... 64,000
Idaho ........... 13 ... 747,099
Michigan ...... 1 ...... 18,256
Nevada ........ 1 ...... 96,370
N. Carolina .. 1 ...... 2,743
N. Dakota .... 1 ...... 2,162
Oregon ......... 4 ..... 142,095
Utah ............. 4 ...... 4,168
Virginia ......... 1 ..... 383
Washington . 2 ..... 7,077
Wyoming ..... 3 ..... 29,830

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