The American West on Fire
Hotter, drier, and primed to burn.
Climate change has lengthened fire seasons and dried out vegetation across the American West, which is locked in its driest two decades in 1,200 years. Larger, faster, more destructive megafires now threaten communities and blanket the continent in smoke.
Megadrought severity
driest in 1,200 yrs
Southwest, 2000-2022
~2×
Burned-area increase
since the 1980s (West-wide)
+75 days
Fire season length
longer than in the 1970s
~half
Climate’s share
of extra forest area burned
~1M acres
Largest CA fire
2020 August Complex
California area burned
million acresWhat's happening
- ▸Wildfire smoke causes severe air pollution thousands of kilometres away.
- ▸Insurance is withdrawing from the highest-risk communities.
- ▸Forests that once recovered now sometimes fail to regrow.
What helps
- Prescribed and cultural burning to reduce built-up fuel.
- Defensible space, hardened homes and smarter land-use planning.
- Cutting emissions to stop fire weather from worsening further.
How it unfolded
- 2018
The Camp Fire destroys Paradise; 85 lives lost.
- 2020
A record ~4.3 million acres burn in California alone.
- 2021
The Dixie Fire becomes the first to cross the Sierra crest.
- 2023
Canadian wildfire smoke turns U.S. skies orange.
Next frontline
The Vanishing Arctic