Future forest fires will be more frequent, bigger, and harder to control
A warming climate is leading to drier conditions, which increase the risk of bigger, more intense wildfires.
This past week, the number of wildfires burning in British Columbia peaked at over 200. Province-wide more than 14 000 people have left their homes under evacuation orders.
Now, a new study from Canadian Forest Service, including researcher Mike Wotton, predicts that climate change is increasing the likelihood of high intensity, uncontrollable fire.
Paper in the journal Environmental Research Letters, Potential climate change impacts on fire intensity and key wildfire suppression thresholds in Canada