Natural disasters such as hurricanes, landslides, floods, and wildfires, have become common occurrences in today’s America. In fact, many of these disasters are predictable, and most even have a dedicated season such as in California, where the typical wildfire season runs from May through October.

While more wildfires occur in the East (including the Midwest), the wildfires in the West—which includes Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming—are larger and burn more acreage, according to statistics from the Congressional Research Service.

In particular, during the 2020 wildfire season, Oregon, California, and Washington have been devastated by over 40 large wildfires and counting.

Forest fires have always played an integral role in nature’s ever-evolving cycle. Unfortunately, human interaction with nature, and our encroachment into heavily forested areas, has brought about devastating results with an increase in acreage burned and economic damages.

According to the U.S. Department of Interior, 90 percent of wildfires in the United States are caused by people. However, these human-caused fires are not always the out-of-control camp fires that Smokey Bear warned us about.