John Abatzoglou receives funding from the National Science Foundation and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Mohammad Reza Alizadeh

Western fires are burning higher in the mountains at unprecedented rates in a clear sign of climate change

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2021-05-25 11:30:14

John Abatzoglou receives funding from the National Science Foundation and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Mohammad Reza Alizadeh does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

The Western U.S. appears headed for another dangerous fire season, and a new study shows that even high mountain areas once considered too wet to burn are at increasing risk as the climate warms.

Nearly two-thirds of the U.S. West is in severe to exceptional drought right now, including large parts of the Rocky Mountains, Cascades and Sierra Nevada. The situation is so severe that the Colorado River basin is on the verge of its first official water shortage declaration, and forecasts suggest another hot, dry summer is on the way.

In a new study published May 24, 2021, our team of fire and climate scientists and engineers found that forest fires are now reaching higher, normally wetter elevations. And they are burning there at rates unprecedented in recent fire history.