Global Warming May Be Fueling Forest Fires

California became a populous state in spite of earthquakes, floods and wildfires. But it's wildfires that have been concerning people in recent years. Although biologists and forest experts consider wildfires a natural part of life's cycle in the wilderness (when the fires aren't threatening homes), California natives and longtime residents have been talking for some time now about what many of us have felt is a growing ferocity to some of the forest fires and particularly the brush fires that both seem to be covering far more territory than in the past. CBS News has a story on the theory that Global Warming may be behind the growing frequency and ferocity of wildfires:

The increase in the number of large wildfires in the western United States in recent years may be a result of global warming, researchers say.

An analysis of data going back to 1970 indicates the fires increased "suddenly and dramatically" in the 1980s and the wildfire season grew longer, according to scientists in Arizona and California.

"The increase in large wildfires appears to be another part of a chain of reactions to climate warming," said Dan Cayan, a co-author of the paper and director of the climate research division at Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

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Beginning about 1987, there was a change from infrequent fires averaging about one week in duration to more frequent ones that often burned five weeks or more, they reported. The length of the wildfire season was extended by 78 days.

CBS News has several other stories related to wildfires and they're worth a look.

There is another theory out there that hasn't been talked about much. The other theory suggests that as the arid west has been settled, and wells dug deeper and deeper because of the scarcity of water, this has led to a much lower water table. Since water can work its way back to the surface at lower elevations, the far lower water tables around the west means fewer springs in canyons, less water in creeks, and generally less moisture during droughts in areas where the densest vegetation grows. This may explain why fires are spreading so widely once they begin.

In the end, it may turn out that both theories are correct; and both theories point to human activity as the cause. But wildfires are beginning to show up in other areas of the country and global warming may be the better explanation. Either way, we need to think more about how we're affecting the environment.