In 2020, the fire season affecting the western United States reached unprecedented levels. The 116 fires active in September consumed nearly 20,822 km2 (https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/accessible-view/ Accessed 2020-09-29) with eighty percent of this footprint (16,567 km2) from 68 fires occurring within California, Oregon, and Washington. Although the 2020 fire season was the most extreme on record, it exemplified patterns of increased wildfire size, number, timing, return frequency, and extent which are linked to climate-driven changes in precipitation and temperature affecting fire ignition and severity (Westerling 2016, Goss et al. 2020, Weber and Yadav 2020).
Citation Information
| Publication Year | 2022 |
|---|---|
| Title | Megafires and thick smoke portend big problems for migratory birds |
| DOI | 10.1002/ecy.3552 |
| Authors | Cory T. Overton, Austen Lorenz, Eric P. James, Ravan Ahmadov, John M. Eadie, Fiona McDuie, Mark J. Petrie, Chris A. Nicolai, Melanie L. Weaver, Daniel A. Skalos, Shannon Skalos, Andrea Lynn Mott, Desmond Alexander Mackell, Anna Kennedy, Elliott Matchett, Michael L. Casazza |
| Publication Type | Article |
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Series Title | Ecology |
| Index ID | 70225498 |
| Record Source | USGS Publications Warehouse |
| USGS Organization | Western Ecological Research Center |