2023 wildfires burned least amount of acres in at least a decade
8 September 2023
Published by: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com
USA – This year’s wildfires have burned the least amount of acres over the last decades, new data show, a surprising statistic after this summer became known as the hottest one on record, along with having some of the worst wildfires in history.
According to the National Interagency Fire Center, wildfires that burned between January and September flared through more than 2,000,000 acres, with more than 40,000 fires blazing through the states. This figure stands to be below the 10-year average of 5.5 million acres ⏤ and stands to be the lowest number of acres burned since at least 2013 through the same point of the year.
2015, however, had the worst year over the decade, with wildfires burning more than 10 million acres, with 68,151 wildfires burning through the states.
This statistic stands in stark contrast to the heat waves that captivated headlines this summer, where the globe saw its hottest July ever recorded. The wildfires that tore through western Maui in August were distinguished as being among the deadliest in modern history, with more than 100 people killed in the disaster. The Canadian wildfires that began back in March continue to affect the air quality of the U.S., with direct effects on the northern Western section of the country.
Still, the wildfire season is not yet over, with natural disasters still expected to occur until October, so there’s still a chance that these figures could get worse as the country continues to move through the fall months. As of Wednesday, 72 active wildfires were blazing through nearly 500,000 acres in 13 states, with four new large wildfires reported in Texas and Arkansas.