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Across the West, wildfire season has already started. In Arizona, a fire in the Prescott National Forest has already burned thousands of acres and evacuated several nearby communities. With no precipitation on the horizon, two other Arizona national forests have imposed fire restrictions.
After last year's catastrophic wildfire season, persisting drought throughout the Southwest signals that another active season is likely. The region is experiencing the worst drought in 400 years, driven by rising temperatures due to climate change.
Other states, including California, Utah, and New Mexico, are gearing up for a busy fire season. New Mexico State Forestry Wildfire Prevention and Communications Coordinator Wendy Mason said, “Right now, New Mexico is facing one of the worst droughts on record. Increasing temperatures and lack of moisture due to climate change have left our lands parched and primed for wildfire. While the Forestry Division and its local, state, federal, and tribal partners are well prepared, we can’t predict when the next catastrophic wildfire will occur.” After a record 4.2 million acres burned in California last year, the state has hired an extra 1,399 firefighters for the upcoming season. Utah started training nearly a month earlier than usual in order to be prepared for early season fires.
In Colorado, leaders from all levels of government, including U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, visited the Cameron Peak Fire burn scar last week. The 2020 Cameron Peak Fire was the largest in the state's history, burning more than 200,000 acres. Governor Jared Polis and other state officials used the visit to express the urgency of wildfire preparedness across agencies and action on climate change.
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We want to reach people in every corner of this country because there is no small town, big city or rural community that’s unaffected by the climate crisis. Americans are seeing and feeling the impacts up close with increasing regularity.”
