You're reading: NPR: Why firefighting alone won’t stop western mega-fires

NPR: Why firefighting alone won’t stop western mega-fires

By NPR.

Published Sept. 12, 2020 at 12:13 am

An orange smoke-filled sky is seen above Estacada, Oregon, on September 9, 2020, as fires burn nearby. - Hundreds of homes including entire communities were razed by wildfires in the western United States on September 9 as officials warned of potential mass deaths under apocalyptic orange skies. At least five towns were "substantially destroyed" in Oregon as widespread evacuations took place across the northwestern state, governor Kate Brown said. (Photo by Deborah BLOOM / AFP)

Photo by AFP

It’s become a near-annual occurrence. A massive wildfire forces thousands of people to flee their homes. Exhausted firefighters warn of its speed and intensity. Smoke smothers cities and states hundreds of miles away. The yearly eruption of hundreds of wildfires across the West is no longer surprising.