Defusing America’s Wildfire Time Bomb: Modernizing Our Approach to Confronting the Hazardous Fuels Backlog

Wildfires in the United States are no longer seasonal events; they have become a year-round national emergency. Over the past three decades, the average annual acreage burned has more than doubled, from 3.3 million acres in the 1990s to over 7 million acres today. The economic toll is staggering. In this installment, we investigate another often overlooked aspect of wildland fire management that has a profound impact on our ability to meet our current and future wildfire challenges.