A remarkably quiet fire season in the US...

If climate change is driving large fires in Canada, why isn't it in the US?

History of fire in the US…

Fire has played a significant role in shaping the landscape and history of the USA.

Native American communities used fire for thousands of years as a tool for hunting, agriculture, and land management. These controlled burns helped in maintaining ecosystems, reducing underbrush, and promoting the growth of specific plants beneficial for food and materials.

By the late 19th and early 20th centuries, fires were largely viewed as destructive forces to be suppressed, especially after devastating events like the 1871 Peshtigo Fire in Wisconsin and the 1906 San Francisco earthquake fires. This led to a policy of full suppression, where the U.S. Forest Service and other agencies sought to extinguish wildfires as quickly as possible.

Over time, this policy of aggressive fire suppression led to unforeseen consequences. Forests grew dense with vegetation, resulting in more significant fuel loads. When fires did break out, they were more intense and challenging to control. By the late 20th century, scientists and land managers recognized that fire was a natural and necessary component of many ecosystems. This understanding led to the practice of prescribed burns, where fires are deliberately set under controlled conditions to reduce fuel buildup and restore natural ecological processes.

In recent decades, as urban areas expand into wildlands (the "wildland-urban interface"), wildfires have become more frequent, and more destructive. Events like the Camp Fire in California in 2018 highlight the significant challenges that fire presents to communities, ecosystems, and policymakers.

The 2023 fire season in the USA as of August 9th…

This data comes directly from the National Interagency Fire Center, a command hub where teams, crews, aircraft, engines, equipment, and other resources are mobilized quickly from coast to coast.