WASHINGTON – Climate change appears to be fueling more wildfires as forest service officials are increasingly concerned they don't have the funds to effectively handle another devastating season.
Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell told senators last week he has enough budget funds to deal with most of the 7,000 fires that occur annually in national forests. "It's that 1 to 2 percent of our fires, that when we have a very active fire season, that goes way beyond our capability to handle within our appropriations," he said.
In 1995, 16 percent of the Forest Service budget was dedicated to fire fighting. Now, it's more than half. Tidwell said the Forest Service predicts that fire programs will be 67 percent of the budget by 2025.
Tidwell said the 10 biggest fires last year cost almost $300 million alone to battle. Because wildfires are not considered natural disasters, the forest service doesn't have access to emergency funds if costs exceed projections.
Some experts said the active fire seasons are becoming more and more common because of climate change.
"Big fires occur when it's warm and dry, that doesn't take rocket science to figure out," said John Abatzoglou, an associate professor at the University of Idaho. He co-wrote a study last year linking human-caused climate change to the increased threat of wildfires.
Abatzoglou said prolonged periods of drought and low humidity — ingredients for a wildfire — have become more common. He said about half of the increase in "fuel aridity" — a dryness measure that indicates higher fire risk — can be attributed to human activity.
Jennifer Jones, a Forest Service spokeswoman, said fire suppression has become more difficult with the need to protect the increasing number of homes in wildfire areas, hazardous fuel buildups, drought and longer fire seasons.
