Tinderbox-Dry Western U.S. at High Risk of Major Wildfires

http://www.climatecentral.org/news/western-u.s.-at-high-risk-of-major-wildfires-officials-warn-15984

Federal officials are preparing for another challenging fire season, driven by tinderbox dry conditions in much of the West, and complicated by budget cuts that will limit the number of firefighters agencies can put in the field.

“We are facing another dangerous wildfire season,” said Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, speaking to reporters from the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) in Boise, Idaho. Jewell noted that 12 of the hottest years in the West have occurred during the past 15 years. As temperatures have increased, due in part to manmade global warming, and spring snowpack has melted earlier, large wildfires have become more common across parts of the West.