Wildfires Explode Across the West

Wildfires are spreading across the West, straining firefighting resources and threatening communities across California, Oregon, and Canada.

According to a piece by Kiley Price in Inside Climate News, “The intense nature of these fires has made them extremely difficult to fight. In California, around 4,800 firefighters have been deployed to the Park Fire, but only around 14 percent is contained so far.” In Canada, the town of Jasper has been largely destroyed, displacing roughly 5,000 residents.

Price notes the economic damages of the fires, adding, “A forthcoming report by economic analysis group IMPLAN finds that wildfires could cost the U.S. economy nearly $90 billion this year, Heatmap News reports.” 

The growing intensity of fires is causing government officials to explore new strategies for identifying risks, preventing major fires through prescribed burns, and responding to fires quickly and effectively. “In June, NOAA tested two experimental tools that use satellites and artificial intelligence to more rapidly identify fires and communicate information to land managers so they can deploy forces to fight the blazes before they spread.” Prescribed burns and brush clearing, practiced by indigenous people for centuries, are once again becoming key tools in wildfire management.