Nearing the end of spring, the wildfire season is shaping up to be to be one of significant potential.
Fires have already destroyed thousands of acres in parts of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Minnesota. Densely populated Los Angeles area has been recently hit by a wildfire totaling 800-plus acres, according to the city's mayor.
According to statistics compiled from the National Interagency Coordination Center (NICC), current drought conditions have provided ideal conditions for wildfires to thrive in those areas.
"It's definitely an early start for the Southeastern and Great Lakes areas," Ken Frederick, a spokesman for the National Interagency Fire Center, said. "Other areas such as the Southwest, however, are off to slow starts."
Compared to past years, this year's statistics rank second to last year as the worst wildfire season since 2000 (data compiled from Jan. 1 to May 9). So far in 2007 there have been 27,866 wildfires that have consumed 649,867 acres.
Last year, 37,434 wildfires consumed 2,329,559 acres by this time. The East Amarillo Complex fire in Northern Texas accounted for a large part of the damage.
The fire was the second largest in the U.S. since 1997, burning 907,245 by the end of March, causing eight towns to be evacuated and 11 reported fatalities.
"Overall, almost nation-wide we're looking at normal to above normal fire season," Frederick said. "Normal usually means busy so we're looking for a busy fire season."
There were about 10 million acres burned last year by wildfires, and Frederick said the NIFC expects about the same for 2007.
Frederick said that wildfire activity in the southwest states -- New Mexico and Arizona -- is nothing like it could be given the drought. He said that so far the big story this year is Georgia and Florida.
Florida currently has more than 220 active wildfires, according to the state's Department of Forestry. The fires have scorched more than 88,000 acres within the last three weeks.
Wildfires in Georgia have helped contribute to the ongoing fires of its southern neighbor as six wildfires have destroyed 157,141 acres of land, according to the NICC. Wildfires originating in the state's Okefenokee Swamp crossed into Florida May 10, burning close to 26,746 acres.
In California, the Griffith Park fire consumed more than 800 acres and as of May 10 was 75 percent contained, according to the Associated Press. The biggest danger the fire posed was its proximity to residential areas as 300 people were evacuated.
Continuing droughts in portions of the West, Southeast and Alaska are expected to spur existing and new wildfires from now until August. According to the National Interagency Fire Center, those areas are not expected see relief this summer.
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