Wildfires Are Moving Faster and Causing More Damage

image via New Scientist

October 28, 2024, 3:30 PM

• •The fastest-moving wildfires are by far the most destructive because they force firefighters to focus on saving lives — instead of saving property.
• •A new analysis that used satellite data to examine tens of thousands of wildfires between 2001 and 2020 found that the fastest moving blazes were responsible for nearly 90 percent of damaged and destroyed homes, despite making up just 3 percent of fires during the period.
• •The paper, published last week in the journal Science, warns that fires are spreading more quickly in the Western U.S. as climate change fuels warmer and drier conditions, posing a growing threat to already at-risk communities near forests and grasslands.

A new analysis has found that the fastest-moving wildfires are by far the most destructive because they force firefighters to focus on saving lives — instead of saving property. The researchers found that the fastest moving blazes were responsible for nearly 90 percent of damaged and destroyed homes, despite making up just 3 percent of fires during the period. And the phenomenon is accelerating. The paper, published last week in the journal Science, warns that fires are spreading more quickly in the Western U.S. as climate change fuels warmer and drier conditions, posing a growing threat to already at-risk communities near forests and grasslands.

Read original article