Fires Burning at ‘Full Tilt’ Across the Western U.S. Stretch Resources
The New York Times
At least one person was killed this week by a wildfire in Colorado, and experts say hot, dry conditions are likely to spark more blazes.
It took only a week for the Park fire north of Sacramento to grow into the fifth-largest in California history, signaling the potential for a destructive wildfire season across much of the Western United States. Almost 50 other large or notable fires were burning throughout the region on Wednesday, according to a New York Times tracker.
Although this year doesn’t yet compare to 2020, the most destructive wildfire season of the last two decades, the sheer number of fires currently burning in Western states — both big and small — has threatened to overwhelm firefighting resources at a rate that worries experts so early in the season.
“Normally we’re ramping up in July to get to that peak in August, early September,” said Alex Robertson, director of fire and aviation management for the U.S. Forest Service. But this year, he said, “we’re going into August already at our full tilt.”
At least one person was killed this week by a wildfire burning near Denver, and a historic mining town was leveled near Bakersfield, Calif. More than half a million acres of the Western United States have burned in the past week, according to the Times wildfire tracker.
Mr. Robertson said the Forest Service had already had to request about 80 aviation and fire operations experts from Australia and New Zealand to help manage the fires spreading in California and other states, including Washington, Oregon and Colorado.
It’s common for nations to share firefighting resources, but Mr. Robertson said it was unusual for the United States to need so much help by the end of July.
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