More Than 530 Wildfires Have Burned Land the Size of Connecticut, Spread Over Alaska

This year, Alaska is burning in ways that have rarely happened before, from the biggest wildfire in the usually largely fireproof southwest region, to two fires that tore through forests and sent smoke hundreds of miles to the Bering Sea town of Nome, where the normally pristine air was pushed into the extremely unhealthy category.

Unusual Wildfires in Alaska

(Photo : Lance King/Getty Images)

A region the size of Connecticut has already been scorched by more than 530 wildfires, and the worst of the fire season is still to come. 

Although there hasn't been much property damage, some residents have had to leave, and one person has already died, as per NBC News

Last month, a helicopter pilot died when he crashed while attempting to transport a cargo of equipment for firemen.

However, longer-term forecasts indicated a trend reminiscent of 2004, when July showers gave way to high-pressure systems, hot days, low humidity, and lightning strikes that fanned Alaska's worst fire year. 

Recent rains have helped, but they haven't completely mitigated the situation.

According to Rick Thoman, a climate expert at the International Arctic Research Center at the University of Alaska, the frequency of these major seasons has doubled from what it was in the second part of the 20th century. 

There is no reason to assume that it won't continue.

The frequency, destructiveness, and difficulty of fighting wildfires are all being increased by heat waves and droughts, which are made worse by a warming climate. 

Despite record-breaking temperatures, flames have ravaged Portugal, Spain, France, England, and Germany this month.

The largest state in the country, Alaska, has likewise remained dry. 

Early snow melt and a mainly dry June in certain areas caused the duff layer, the band of decomposing moss and grasses that covers the floors of boreal forests and tundra, to dry up. 

Although in varying states of decay, this organic material can be up to 2 feet (0.61 meters) deep.

The East Fork fire, which erupted on May 31 in a rarely burned region of southwest Alaska, was caused by a lightning strike on the duff layer in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. 

No mandatory evacuation orders were issued, although two settlements with a total population of around 700 people were in danger due to the 259 square mile wildfire that eventually became the largest in the delta (671 square kilometers). 

Communities were safeguarded by firefighters.

According to Thoman, a fire like that was a direct result of climate change. 

The vegetation on the tundra is increasing, the willow and alder trees in the zone where the tundra and forests meet are getting bigger, and the spruce along river valleys are getting bigger and are moving more uphill from the valleys.

A little bit more than half of all wildfires in Alaska are sparked by lightning, with the remaining ones being ignited by humans either accidentally, purposefully, or through ignorance.

Also Read: Hot Weather Scorches Central U.S While Alaska's Wildfires in June Breaks Records

Alaska's Usual Weather

(Photo : McKayla Crump/Unsplash)

Ocean currents have an impact on Alaska's climate, which is renowned for being unpredictable. 

The Alaska Current, which transports relatively warm Pacific seas north and west along the southern Aleutian Islands, bathes the western shores. 

These warm ocean waters travel over the northern Aleutian Islands shoreline before entering the Bering Sea, as per Britannica.

The Aleutian low, an atmospheric low-pressure center, is caused by the mixing of the warm waters with the cold waters of the Bering Sea.

Except for the major mountain ranges, Alaska can be divided into several general climate zones. 

The first zone has typical summer temperatures of about 40 to 60 °F (4 to 16 °C) and average winter temperatures of about 20 to 40 °F (-7 to 4 °C), and it includes southern coastal and southeastern Alaska, the islands in the Gulf of Alaska, and the Aleutian Islands. 

Locally, rainfall ranges from roughly 60 to 160 inches (1,500 to 4,000 mm).

Related Article: Alaska Declares Disaster Emergency Due to Flooding Caused by Ice Jam in Manley Hot Springs