Wildfires Rage Across Several States as Extreme Heat Persists

While many eyes have turned toward Hurricane Beryl in the Caribbean, wildfires continue to blaze across the Western United States as temperatures exceeding 100 degrees are expected to stick around. The National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC), which is run by the U.S. Department of the Interior, reported on July 5 that there are 59 wildfires covering a total of 460,007 acres across nine states, and firefighters have responded with full suppression strategies for 21 of the fires. Nearly 9,000 wildland firefighters and supporting personnel have been assigned to the incidents across the nation. The most active state is currently Alaska, where firefighters are working to suppress 39 large fires covering a combined 373,783 acres (approximately 584 square miles). These include “complexes,” which are incidents where more than one individual fire is close enough to be grouped together under one assigned management unit....