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Southwest wildfires and global warming, explained
Posted by Climate Central: Alyson Kenward and Andrew Freedman on June 16th, 2011
Climate Central: The Guadalupe Fire Department fights a wildfire near Nutrioso, Arizona on June 4, 2011. Credit: US Forest Service, Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests.
For much of the Western US, wildfire season hits its peak near the end of summer, after months of hot and dry weather have increased the susceptibility of plants and trees, or "fuels' in wildfire parlance, to burning. But 2011 has already been a banner year for wildfires, in terms of acres burned to date, and the official start of summer is still...