Up in smoke: controlling the destruction caused by wildfires is a hot issue in the West.

• Author: Michel, Erica
• Position: ENVIRONMENT

In 2012--one of the most devastating wildfire years in memory--more than 9 million acres of federal, state, local and private land burned up in the United States. There were 15 large wildfires that year, each burning more than 100,000 acres, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.

During an average year between 1993 and 2002, about 4 million acres would go up in smoke. But between 2003 and 2012, the average number of acres burned increased to 7.3 million. What's going on?

Although wildfires can occur anywhere in the United States, the West has been particularly hard hit in the last few years, where wildfires appear to be getting worse.

What's Happening?

It is difficult to say conclusively that wildfires in the western United States will continue to become more frequent and severe because many factors play a role in determining the severity of a fire season including annual precipitation and wind conditions. There is, however, evidence to suggest that wildfires will become more difficult and costly to manage in the future.

Many experts agree that practices to suppress wildfires have caused vegetation to build up to such a degree that forests become even more vulnerable to larger fires. Population growth in some forested areas is another factor.

While the chief causes can be debated, the consequences cannot. A rise in the frequency and severity of wildfires is increasing the costs of suppression for states and forcing many states to rethink how they allocate resources for wildfires.

Studies suggest the wildfire season is lengthening--some scientists predict the wildfire season could be two to three weeks longer by 2070. A longer fire season may not always result in more wildfires, but there appears to be the potential for more severe and frequent wildfires in store for the West.

Wildfires have always been a feature of the American West, and they play important ecological roles. Many animal and plant species rely on wildfires for survival. Some species of wildflowers only bloom following a fire; the Rocky Mountain lodgepole pine requires fire to open its cones and spread its seeds. The role of wildfires in ecosystems was not always well-understood, and as more people and industries moved into wildland areas during the late 1800s and early 1900s, wildfires inflicted greater societal costs.

After a series of particularly devastating wildfires in 1910 that claimed the lives of 78 firefighters and destroyed many communities, federal and state governments increased wildfire suppression efforts, and raised public awareness of wildfire risk. This strategy focused solely on suppression and prevention had some unintended consequences, however. Without small fires, forests became overcrowded with trees and underbrush, leaving them susceptible to more severe...