According
to the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC), and NASA, 2012 was, “an
extraordinary year for wildfires.” While this was already a known fact of mine
as I have blogged about it previously in the year, the statistics of just how
popular wildfires were this year are interesting. As of December 2012, NIFC
statistics showed that over 9.1 million acres of land have burned this year-
which is the 3rd highest total in history since data has been
recorded in 1960. Although the number of
wildfires itself for 2012 was low (56,000), along with the number of acres
burned being extremely high, the average size of fires in 2012 is the highest
recorded in history.
Along with the NIFC recording and
researching fire data, NASA researchers also maintain records of the amount of
area burned per year as a part of the Global Fire Emissions Database (GFED).
According to NASA scientist Louis Giglio, the intensity of wildfires in 2012
will also break the GFED record. So why is this data important? Well, after the
shocking drought that the U.S. and many other parts of the world have been
faced with, this information will become very useful in planning and mitigation
efforts to areas prone to these fires. Giglio stated in an interview that, “This
type of long-term fire monitoring will only become important as the climate
changes and certain regions prone to fire become drier.”
By looking at records and other data
that has been collected over time, researchers can begin studying these
wildfire trends and start predicting which regions need to be better managed
and prepared to prevent the spread of wildfires. To read more about wildfires
in the past year, visit my blogs, “Conditions For Fire Favorable In Wisconsin,”
and “Firenado Hits Australian Outback.”
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