Study finds fewer — but more destructive — fires in the West

A new study finds that the West has actually had fewer wildfires, but the fires it does have have been more destructive.

By: Bryce Dix, KUNM News

Outlets: Source New Mexico

Published: May 26, 2026

Words: 369

Last Updated: 2 months ago

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Fire ecologists with the U.S. Forest Service, University of California, Boise State University, and other academic institutions have made a surprisingly unintuitive discovery after analyzing 30 years of wildfire data, especially as the West grapples with profound drought and hotter weather.

The study, published last month in Environmental Research Letters, found that the American West is actually experiencing far fewer wildfires than in the past.

When comparing two separate 15-year chunks of data from …

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