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Each Fire Burning More Land Than Usual This Year, Nationwide

Fires are raging across the West. So far this year, 46,416 fires have burned over 8 million acres across the U.S. That's actually less fires than usual for this far into the year, but more land burned.

In California, nearly 4 percent of the state's land has burned. That makes it the worst fire season in recorded history in the state. A similar story holds true for Oregon.

Colorado's Cameron Peak fire is now the largest in that state's history. Wyoming has not escaped the burning either with the ongoing Mullen fire west of Laramie. On average, the wildfires burning in the U.S. this year are larger than in the past ten years.

Updated numbers for fires and acres burned can be found through the National Interagency Fire Center.

Have a question about this story? Please contact the reporter, Ashley Piccone, at apiccone@uwyo.edu.

Ashley is a PhD student in Astronomy and Physics at UW. She loves to communicate science and does so with WPM, on the Astrobites blog, and through outreach events. She was born in Colorado and got her BS in Engineering Physics at Colorado School of Mines. Ashley loves hiking and backpacking during Wyoming days and the clear starry skies at night!
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