State of the Spring Wildfire Season for the Eastern U.S.

Yale Climate Connections has written an article discussing the intensity of the eastern U.S.’s spring wildfire season. While not as dramatic as the western U.S.’s wildfires, the same climate trends that have exacerbated that region’s fire risk also apply to the east. Wildfires have burnt over 351,821 acres already, with the Croatan National Forest in North Carolina experiencing its second largest fire in history at 36,000 acres.

The National Interagency Coordination Center’s short term fire predictions continue to show the Southeast at low to moderate risk of fire, especially the state of Florida. And the Southeast Interagency Fire Center’s spring outlook has assessed the region at a higher risk due to the winter having been “nothing short of special across the South, with many reporting stations experiencing a top-five warmest winter.” Read more at Yale Climate Connections.