After having its hottest May in 91 years in which much of the snow cover melted off early, Alaska has seen no less than 152 fires erupt over the weekend. The numbers have only increased since them and reached a peak of more than 300 statewide fires today, according to the Alaska Interagency Coordination Center.
"Given the high number of fires and the personnel assigned to those fires, the state's firefighting resources are becoming very limited, forcing fire managers to prioritize resources," the state's Department of Natural Resources stated. In the document, they note that the preparedness level of the state is 5, meaning that the fires "resistance to control is high to extreme and resistance to extinguishment is high."
Fires in Alaska are dangerous because they don't just consume trees, grass or tundra, reports Scientific American, they also burn away various soils and threaten permafrost and frozen soil beneath the ground, all of which can help trigger additional release of carbon to the atmosphere.
Throughout the past 60 years, Alaska has warmed more than twice as fast as the rest of the country, with average temperatures going up by nearly 3 degrees Fahrenheit. By 2050, it is believed that temperatures may climb by an additional 2-4 degrees. This increase is expected to increase wildfire risks in Alaska even further, creating somewhat of a cycle.
Interesting enough, as the world tries to lower its carbon emissions, the thawing of permafrost - leading to a new source of emissions - threatens to undermine our progress considerably.
