As fires continue to rage throughout the western states, particularly California and Colorado, more than 4.6 million acres have been lost. According to a University of Oregon researcher, many factors are at work.
Cassondra Moseley, associate vice president for research and research professor at the University of Oregon told The Daily Yonder that current conditions are the result of climate change, forest and wildfire management, community protection and housing development. In addition, fires have grown larger and fire season has grown longer—worldwide.
“Earlier this year Congress passed a “fire funding fix” that changes the way in which the federal government will pay for large fires during expensive fire seasons. But it doesn’t affect the factors that are making fire suppression more costly, such as climate trends and more people living in fire prone landscapes,” Moseley reported.
Fire season is longer. The weather is hotter. People are building homes closer and closer to areas with fire-prone ecosystems. This means it will cost more and more to fight fires, with less funding going toward research, forest management and support for state and private forestry, which are needed in the long-term to help deal with increasing wildfire risk.