NPR: California's wildfires are burning far more land so far this year than in 2023
https://www.npr.org/2024/07/16/nx-s1-5041344/california-wildfires-acres-calfireCalifornias wildfires are burning far more land so far this year than in 2023
JULY 16, 20245:00 AM ET
By
Ayana Archie
So far in this years Californias wildfire season, about 20 times more acres of land have burned than around this time last year.
Since the beginning of the year, there were more than 3,500 wildfires across the state through early July, causing about 207,000 acres of land to burn. Around this time last year, about 10,000 acres had burned. The five-year average of acres burned through mid-July is about 39,000, Cal Fire said last week.
We are not just in a fire season, but we are in a fire year, Joe Tyler, director of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire), said at a news conference earlier in July.
Tyler said Cal Fire and its partners are fully staffed with fire trucks, bulldozers, and newly introduced Blackhawk helicopters that can fly at night.