Weather & Science
Wildfires Are Gaining Speed, a Worrying Trend for the US West
Fast-moving infernos are responsible for most fire-related property damage in the US — and they’ve gotten even faster over the past 20 years, scientists found.
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Increasingly fast-moving wildfires were responsible for nearly 80% of homes and other structures destroyed in conflagrations in the US over the past two decades, according to a first-of-its kind study.
The growth rate of the fastest wildfires — those that burn at least 4,000 acres (1,620 hectares) in a single day — increased 249% in the western US between 2001 and 2020. During that period, some 1.8 million structures nationwide were threatened by a fast-moving fire, researchers found.