Hear Geography Professor听Jennifer Balch discuss听"" on Science Friday.
This year, 50,000 wildfires have burned 8.5 million acres of land in the United States. California, Washington, Oregon, and Montana currently have multiple large fires burning. The large Eagle Creek fire in the Columbia River Gorge near Portland was started by two teenagers who set off a firecracker.
Dr. Balch conducted听听which showed humans were responsible for starting 84 percent of wildfires.听
Balch and Hugh Safford, a fire ecologist with the Forest Service, discuss the role that human influence鈥攊ncluding climate change鈥攎ight have on future wildfire seasons, and how this will affect the ecosystems and management of wildfires.
Additionally, atmospheric chemist Bob Yokelson听of the smoke plumes from these wildfires and the effects on air quality.