Study: Humans cause 84% of U.S. wildfires
By Amanda Hoover, Christian Science Monitor
Over the past two decades, humans triggered 84 percent of all wildfires and tripled the length of the fire season, making it a nearly year-round phenomenon under drier, warmer conditions, according to a new study.
The findings come from a team of researchers at the University of Colorado and University of Massachusetts who examined wildfire data from 1992 to 2012 to conclude that humans had started 1.5 million fires during that period, expanding blazes into new and larger territories. The rest, researchers say, were sparked naturally by lightning.
And even as climate change makes conditions ripe for fostering blazes, the actions of humans in drier, warmer climates are mostly to blame for starting the fires.