Alaska Facing Rare Fire Season, With an Area the Size of Connecticut Already Burned

  • 📰 nbcchicago
  • ⏱ Reading Time:
  • 36 sec. here
  • 2 min. at publisher
  • 📊 Quality Score:
  • News: 18%
  • Publisher: 51%

United States Headlines News

United States Latest News,United States Headlines

Alaska is burning this year in ways rarely or ever seen. So far this year more than 530 wildfires have burned an area the size of Connecticut and the typically worst of the fire season lays ahead.

California has recorded its largest, most destructive and deadliest wildfires in the last five years and with the state deep in drought authorities are girding for what may be a late summer and fall filled with smoke and flames.

A fire like that one was directly attributable to climate change, Thoman said. There’s more vegetation growing on the tundra, willow and alder trees are thicker in the transition area between the tundra and forests, and spruce along river valleys are growing thicker and moving farther uphill from those valleys.

It isn't feasible or necessary to try to fight all Alaskan wildfires. Fire play a key role in the state's ecology by cleaning out low-lying debris, thinning trees and renewing habitats for plants and animals, so Alaska typically lets most burn themselves out or wait until rain and snow does the job. Firefighting resources are used to battle fires in populated areas.

 

Thank you for your comment. Your comment will be published after being reviewed.
Please try again later.
We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

 /  🏆 545. in US

United States Latest News, United States Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

The 13 Best Restaurants in Fairbanks, AlaskaFrom thick-frosted cinnamon buns to loaded cheesesteaks to tons of exceptional Thai, here’s where and what to eat in this unpretentious town
Source: Eater - 🏆 368. / 59 Read more »

Evidence of invasive crab that could wreak havoc on Alaska fisheries found near MetlakatlaScientists have been watching for invasive European green crabs to show up in Alaska for years. A NOAA biologist says that a mid-July find of three shells on Annette Island means 'they are moving our way.'
Source: KTOOpubmedia - 🏆 439. / 53 Read more »

Curious Alaska: What’s the deal with Anchorage’s airport train station?Curious Alaska: If you've ever wondered what the deal is with the train station at Anchorage's international airport, you're not alone. Most locals haven’t been inside — unless you’ve attended a wedding or corporate event there.
Source: adndotcom - 🏆 293. / 63 Read more »

Alaska sues Interior Department over contaminated ANCSA landsThe state of Alaska has sued the U.S. Department of the Interior in an attempt to hold the federal government responsible for the identification of thousands of polluted sites on land given to Alaska Native corporations.
Source: KTOOpubmedia - 🏆 439. / 53 Read more »

Alaska Supreme Court tosses sentence for drunk driver who killed 2 teenaged girls in 2013Stacey Graham, now 40, received the highest-ever sentence in Alaska for an unintentional vehicular homicide — 40 years in prison with 8 suspended — for killing two children walking on a sidewalk. The state Supreme Court has ordered that he be re-sentenced.
Source: KTOOpubmedia - 🏆 439. / 53 Read more »