As average summertime temperatures rise across the West and southern Plains, wildfires are also becoming more frequent. Already this year, they have consumed more than 2.5 million acres. To date, “75 wildfires have burned in Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, California, Arizona, and New Mexico. The National Weather Service currently has the region under heat warnings and excessive heat warnings. Fifty-five fires have burned in Arizona and New Mexico alone,” says High Country News.
The Trump administration’s proposed 2018 budget calls for allotting $2.4 billion, the 10-year-average cost of suppression, to wildfire suppression and wildlife preparedness. “According to NIFC, suppression alone cost almost $2 billion last year,” says High Country News.