Give Now

Climate Central

Researching and reporting the
science and impacts of climate change

× +

Who We Are

An independent organization of leading scientists and journalists researching and reporting the facts about our changing climate and its impact on the public.

What We Do

Climate Central surveys and conducts scientific research on climate change and informs the public of key findings. Our scientists publish and our journalists report on climate science, energy, sea level rise. Read More

About Our Expertise

Members of the Climate Central staff and board are among the most respected leaders in climate science. Staff members are authorities in communicating climate and weather links, sea level rise, climate. Read More

Climate Central
  • Home
  • Research
    • Publications
  • Partnership Journalism
  • Gallery
    • Interactives
    • Graphics
    • Maps
    • Collections
  • Videos
    • Extreme Weather
    • States of Change
    • On the Media
    • Climate in Context
    • News and Reports
  • Media Library
  • News Archive
  • What We Do
    • Mission Statement
    • What We Do
    • Board
    • Staff
    • Our Programs
      • Climate Science
      • Climate Matters
      • Sea Level Rise
    • History
    • Support Us
      • Your Support Matters
      • Why Climate Central
      • Ways to Give
      • Learn More
    • Financials
    • For the Media
    • Legal/Terms of Use
    • Jobs
    • Climate Services
    • Press Releases
    • Editorial Independence Policy
  • Support Our Work
Acres Burned in Washington
Download high resolution versions

Acres Burned in Washington

  • Published: September 2nd, 2009

As this graph clearly shows, the acreage burned by wildfires in the state of Washington has increased significantly in recent years. All told, more land burned during the years 2000-2007 than burned in the decades 1977-1999 combined.

This is consistent with a broader pattern across the American west, where rising temperatures and increased destruction from wildfires are highly correlated. One key link is that higher temperatures in spring can cause earlier snowmelt, which makes for a longer and more severe fire season.

The graph begins in 1977 because that is the year when the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, or PDO—a periodic shift in Pacific sea surface temperatures that happens every 20 or 30 years and influences climate patterns on land—changed from a relatively cool to a relatively warm phase. The graph ends in 2007, the last year that full sets of fire data were available. At that point the PDO was still in a warm phase; this is important because comparing fire data within the same PDO phase gives a cleaner picture of climate influences that go beyond natural variability.

Data were provided by Jeremy S. Littell, Climate Impacts Group, Joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and Ocean and Center for Science in the Earth System (JISAO/CSES), University of Washington, and were published in a 2009 paper (Abstract) in the journal Ecological Applications. Data are compiled from the USDA Forest Service and Department of Interior annual fire statistic reports and the archives at the National Interagency Fire Management Database.1

See related video

Posted in Climate, Extremes, Wildfires, United States, Pacific Northwest

References

  1. Jeremy S. Littell, Donald McKenzie, and David L. Peterson. Ecological Context of Climate Impacts on Fire: Wildland Fire Area Burned in the Western U.S. 1916-2003. (PDF) University of Washington College of Forest Resources, 2003.. ↩

Featured Research

Picturing Our Future

Picturing Our Future

Seniors at Risk: Heat and Climate Change

Seniors at Risk: Heat and Climate Change

Report: Flooded Future: Global vulnerability to sea level rise worse than previously understood

Report: Flooded Future: Global vulnerability to sea level rise worse than previously understood

Extreme Heat: When Outdoor Sports Become Risky

Extreme Heat: When Outdoor Sports Become Risky

Climate Change is Threatening Air Quality across the Country

Climate Change is Threatening Air Quality across the Country

Ocean at the Door: New Homes and the Rising Sea

Ocean at the Door: New Homes and the Rising Sea

Climate Central

  • Copyright © 2022 Climate Central.
  • Contact
  • Terms
  • Content Licensing
  • Privacy
  • Site Map