Will global warming produce more frequent and more intense wildfires?

Black bear and her cub travelling along the edge of the Lateral West Fire. 

In an extreme drought and amid high winds, many fires burned together in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the town of Gatlinburg and nearby communities to form the deadly fire that became known as Chimney Tops 2. This photo was taken on the night of Nov. 28, 2016, as the fire was spreading rapidly.

Alder Fire in Yellowstone National Park. 

A Landsat image showing the damage from the Wallow Fire in Arizona, 2011.

Landsat 8's July 29 pass over central California shortly after the outbreak of the fire. Credit: USGS/NASA Landsat Program.

Pre- and post-fire measurements of fire effects help ecologists, fire scientists, and managers determine how the severity of wildfires affects plants, animal habitat, and ecosystem services

Robert Fisher, USGS Research Biologist talks about the overall impact of fires on the biology of the area.

Prescribed fire is one strategy managers employ for multiple reasons, including descreasing fuels to reduce the probability of severe future wildfires and modifying habitat to benefit native plants and animals. USGS scientists are studying the efficacy of these treatments in forested and sagebrush-steppe ecosystems and their effects on streams, soils, wildlife, and

Joshua trees burning in the Bulldog Fire in Mojave Desert tortoise habitat of southwestern Utah. These fires result in population losses of tortoises and modify the habitat in ways that takes decades to centuries to recover.