October 8, 2024
Every fire that doesn’t start is one we don’t have to fight.
North Dakota State Forester Tom Claeys, regarding the significance of fire prevention awareness as nearly 30 large wildfires remain active across seven western states, including North Dakota, plus California, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah and Wyoming.
Why It Matters: Nearly 30 large wildfires remain active in seven western states. In North Dakota, two large wildfires have burned nearly 40,000 acres, causing “significant damage“ within the state’s agriculture industry, and one man has died as a result of fire injuries. Additional states experiencing large wildfires include California, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah and Wyoming; fires in all states have burned over 1.2 million acres combined. The fires have resulted in air quality alerts for states like Colorado and Montana due to wildfire smoke.
More Context: The National Interagency Fire Center defines a large wildfire as “100 acres in timber fuel models or 300 acres in grass fuel models.”
Read More: North Dakota battles historic wildfires; latest on status and scope of all fires (KFYR-TV News)
National Fire News (National Interagency Fire Center)
Image Credit: North Dakota National Guard
by Aimee Roberts, based in Virginia
