[fintstone]

Originally Posted by CurtEgerer

This is the current wildfire map of the US. The number of fires is fairly typical of any given time. Of course, the 100s of other wildfires are not in populated areas so we hear nothing about them. The fires occur, consume all the fuel they can and then they go away. Always have, always will. Part of the natural process. Establishing large populations within, and surrounded by, the fuel is probably not the best idea we've had as a species. Massive controlled burns and/or clear-cutting (i.e., getting rid of the fuel) are the only realistic prevention measures.

Of course, the map is somewhat deceiving as all the icons make it look like these fires are equal. In most places, they are very small, contained, and or in areas where the population and damage are very minimal. Highly populated areas are better protected.

Just a legend shows a lot (many are controlled/contained) ...as does a filter to only show larger fires. Most are/were an acre or less. Controlled burns are already used in many areas. Overall, the nation does a pretty good job of fire protection.



It is also interesting how they are reported.

The current fires in CA are reported separately (dozens of small fires) even though they are all burning at once....so if you filter for only large fires, the current CA blaze does not even show up.