Environment & Energy

hatrack

(59,594 posts) Mon Jun 29, 2015, 07:37 AM Jun 2015

317 Large Fires Burning Across Alaska, 600K Acres; 04-05 Fires Alone Larger Than 1950-64 Combined

Thousands of firefighters are working to put out wildfires in Alaska as they blaze across the state. The Alaska Division of Forestry reported that as of today there are 317 wildfires burning in the Last Frontier. On Wednesday alone, there were 40 new fires and Thursday saw an additional 28 new fires, bringing the total acreage burned to 624,496 acres.

Alaska is no stranger to wildfires, but climate change has drastically increased the frequency of wildfires. On Wednesday, Todd Sanford, a climate scientist at Climate Central, released a report on how Alaska is entering a new era for wildfires.

Alaska is no stranger to wildfires, but climate change has drastically increased the frequency of wildfires. On Wednesday, Todd Sanford, a climate scientist at Climate Central, released a report on how Alaska is entering a new era for wildfires.

The report says: In the past 60 years, Alaska has warmed more than twice as fast as the rest of the country, with average temperatures up by nearly three degrees Fahrenheit. By 2050, temperatures are projected to climb an additional two to four degrees, with the Arctic region seeing the most dramatic increases. These rising temperatures are expected to increase wildfire risks in Alaska, just as they have in the rest of the western U.S.

The report found a nearly 10-fold increase in the number of large fires in the Arctic region in the 2000s compared to the 1950s and 1960s. And the total area that these large fires are burning is increasing every year. “In just two years, 2004 and 2005, wildfires burned a larger area than in the 15 years from 1950-1964 combined,” says the report.

EDIT

http://ecowatch.com/2015/06/27/wildfires-rage-alaska/

2 replies

= new reply since forum marked as read

Highlight:

317 Large Fires Burning Across Alaska, 600K Acres; 04-05 Fires Alone Larger Than 1950-64 Combined (Original Post) hatrack Jun 2015 OP

Half a Million Acres Burned in Just One Day — Alaska Shatters Record For Worst June Wildfire Outbrea mackdaddy Jun 2015 #1

It's also burning in Saskatoon NickB79 Jul 2015 #2

mackdaddy

(1,529 posts)

1. Half a Million Acres Burned in Just One Day — Alaska Shatters Record For Worst June Wildfire Outbrea

Reply to hatrack (Original post)

Tue Jun 30, 2015, 09:09 AM

Jun 2015

https://robertscribbler.wordpress.com/2015/06/29/half-a-million-acres-burned-in-just-one-day-alaska-shatters-record-for-worst-june-wildfire-outbreak-ever/

All throughout the mainstream media last week we heard the same myopic litany — ‘a massive wildfire outbreak ongoing in Alaska is not abnormal.’ Well, today, all pretense that there was anything normal about the 314 wildfires still raging throughout the state has gone up in a cloud of boreal forest, tundra, and thawed permafrost emitted smoke.

As of 6:28 AM Alaska time today, 1,912,000 acres had burned in Alaska since the start of the year. That’s roughly 1,800,000 more acres burned than just before the current wildfire outbreak started on June 18th and 497,000 more acres burned over just the last 24 hour period alone. By comparison, the previous worst ever June fire outbreak for Alaska during 2004 burned less than 1,200,000 acres of the Arctic state.

With 42 hours left in June and with more than 300 fires still active, it’s pretty clear that the current fire season is a historic, unprecedented, record-shattering event. One that will almost certainly break the 2 million acre mark and may show double the over-all previous record burning during June of 2004. An excessive new record that is occurring in the ominous context of the hottest year in the global climate record and a vastly irresponsible dumping of 50 billion tons of heat-trapping, CO2 equivalent (of which 32 billion tons is CO2) gasses into the atmosphere through fossil fuel burning and related industry each and every year.

NickB79

(19,276 posts)

2. It's also burning in Saskatoon

Reply to hatrack (Original post)

Wed Jul 1, 2015, 07:02 PM

Jul 2015

http://www.thestarphoenix.com/life/Wildfires+continue+ravage+Saskatchewan+force+evacuations/11176446/story.html

As of Monday morning, 116 fires were burning across the province and 47 are larger than 100 hectares. There have been 510 fires to date, whereas there were only 186 to date at this time last year. Environment Canada has issued an air quality statement for most of the province.

It's so bad, we're seeing the haze all the way down here in Minnesota, 1500 miles away!

Reply to this discussion