Scorched Earth: The past, present and future of human influences on wildfires

Fires have continuously occurred on Earth for at least the last 400 million years. But since the 1970s, the frequency of wildfires has increased at least four-fold, and the total size of burn areas has increased at least six-fold in the western United States alone. Steadily rising, the US's bill for fighting wildfires now totals $1.5 billion per year.

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