Prescribed burnings in Lower Table Rocks, Medford, Oregon.
While much of the west may be behind on its annual fires, the southwest is facing the opposite problem. Human-started wildfires have spurred a fire surplus in shrublands and chapparal ecosystems, especially in Southern California. I
"You're getting more fire than you would have historically, which can even threaten resilience," Hansen said. "These shrubland ecosystems might not be able to regenerate if the fire is too frequent."
Parts of Cascadia are also in a fire surplus due to climate change increasing extreme temperatures and droughts, both of which help set the stage for blazes.
"I was a little bit surprised to see these signals of climate change-driven surplus already," said Hansen. "I'd expected that would be something we would see in the next decade or two instead."
Contributed by Riley Thompson
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