2006-07-06 Global Warming Fuels U.S. Forest Fires

2006-07-06 Sara Goudarzi LiveScience \global warming\wildfires http://www.livescience.com/environment/060706_globalwarming_fire.html Global Warming Fuels U.S. Forest Fires Global Warming Fuels U.S. Forest Fires  A recent increase in wildfire activity has been correlated with rising seasonal temperatures and the earlier arrival of spring, a new study concludes.

Looking at a database of 1,166 forest wildfires from 1970 to 2003 in the western United States, researchers compared the number and potency of wildfires to spring and summer temperatures and the timing of snowmelts.

Wildfire season and potency increased "suddenly and dramatically" in the late 1980's, the scientists say.

"The increase in large wildfires appears to be another part of a chain of reactions to climate warming," said study co-author Dan Cayan, director of Scripps Institution of Oceanography's Climate Research Division. "The recent ramp-up is likely, in part, caused by natural fluctuations, but evidence is mounting that anthropogenic effects have been contributing to warmer winters and springs in recent decades."

&ldquo;A recent increase in wildfire activity has been correlated with rising seasonal temperatures and the earlier arrival of spring, a new study concludes.&rdquo;   