The 2002 wildfire season is leaving its mark throughout the United States.  To date, this year’s season is posting numbers comparable to those of the devastating season experienced in 2000, the worst fire season of the last fifty years.  From January 1 through September 27, 2000, the United States had battled 79,962 wildfires with 6,875,263 acres of land burned.  This year, during the same time span, the U.S. has had fewer fires, 67, 123 to date, yet 6,568,979 acres have burned (www.nifc.gov).  While the number of fires is less, this year’s fires have consumed nearly the same acreage as those in 2000.  The 6.5 million acres burned so far in 2002 is nearly double the 10-year average of 3,439,248 and the total acreage burned during the 2001 wildfire season.
 A contributing factor to the fierce fires this year has been the extreme drought conditions plaguing much of the United States.  Dry conditions aid the spread of fires and increase the threat posed by severe summer storms.  In the United States, ten percent of wildfires are caused by lightening strikes in dry areas.  The lack of rain has prolonged many fires and made them more difficult to bring under control and contain.  High wind speeds and temperatures combined with low relative humidity have played a role in the wildfires also.
 This season virtually every state has experienced its share of wildfires.  The state of Alaska has been the hardest hit with over 2.1 million acres burned by wildfires.  Oregon, Arizona, Colorado and California follow Alaska in the amount of land (in acres) burned this year.  Just over one million acres have burned in Oregon; 649,729 acres in Arizona; 501,686 in Colorado and 480,333 in California (www.nifc.gov/fireinfo/nfnmap.html).
 The season in the western United States is far from over.  During the weekend of September 27-29, thirty-six new fires were reported to the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC).  In California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada and Oregon, fire danger remains very high to extreme according to the NIFC.  Currently, there are eight active large fires burning in the U.S., covering 45,955 acres.
The NIFC and other government agencies, such as the National Incident Information Center (NIIC) within the USDA Forest Service and NOAA, produce updated information and fire and weather reports on their websites.  For more information on current wildfires and running statistics about the 2002 wildfire season visit:

National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC)
National Incident Information Center (NIIC)
USDA Forest Service
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
National Park Service