It's the fourth day of August, and it is still wildfire season in the northern hemisphere. Currently there are 115 large wildfires burning in the United States. "Large" means 40 acres or more. Of those 115 fires, 9 are contained and will not spread further, but 68 of them are not contained or under any type of control. There is currently one wildfire burning in the Everglades in Florida, three in Texas, and multiple fires in Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.
In Alaska, there are 16 wildfires burning. So far, they have consumed 256, 995.5 acres - or 401.555 square miles. There are also 16 wildfires burning in Colorado. Acreage lost is 180,069, which equals 281.357 square miles. The largest Colorado wildfire began with a Danish tourist, whose visitor's visa had expired, building a fire pit in early June. More than 100 homes have been destroyed, the fire has run wild over more than 108,000 acres, and is still not contained.
The fires receiving the most publicity currently, are the ones in California, and there are 14 that are burning. The three largest, and getting the most attention, are the Natchez fire, which has burned 8,432 acres; the Ferguson fire, which has burned 77,207 acres; and the Carr fire, which has destroyed 183,924 acres. Just those three fires equal a burn area of 343.067 square miles. The Carr fire has been the most deadly, killing people and destroying homes. It was started by a car with a flat tire.
Just adding the areas burned so far in Alaska, Colorado, and the three afore-named fires in California, the square mileage burned is 1,025.979. That is almost the same size as the state of Rhode Island (1,212 square miles). And that is not counting the other 80 wildfires that are burning...
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