Catastrophic Wildfires: Climate Change or Past Policy? The number of burned acres by decade has risen dramatically over the past century.  The Forest Service's fire suppression policy led to dangerous levels of unburned woody fuel, while reducing the number of fires. Now, the combination of dense stands and warming temperatures is spurring pine beetle devastation of trees, making millions more acres ripe for burning. Latest News: Forests

Fact 1: in the latter half of the 20th century, the Forest Service’s fire suppression policy led to dangerous levels of unburned woody fuel, while also reducing the number of fires.

Fact 2: The combination of dense stands and warming temperatures is spurring massive pine beetle attacks that kill or weaken trees, making millions of acres ripe for burning.

Fact 3: Research shows that fire activity is more related to temperature—especially early warming in the spring—than to previous fire suppression history or age of timber stands.

Fact 4: in the western u.S., warmer summers since the mid-1980’s are linked to a 78-day increase in the length of the fire season and a four-fold increase in major wildfires compared with the period between 1970 and 1986.

Fact 5: Drier summers mean that large wildfires and smoky skies will increasingly be a part of the Montana landscape.

Jan. 26, 2009: "West's Forests Dying Faster, Study Finds" : Trees in old-growth forests across the West are dying at a small, but increasing rate that scientists conclude is probably caused by longer and hotter summers from a dying climate. ... the death rate is doubling every 17 to 29 years, hitting levels of 0.5 percent to 1.7 percent a year, and was seen in trees of all ages, species, and locations, according to a study published in the Friday edition of the journal Science ... read more