U.S. wildfire season exceeds 10-year average as 99 large fires burn

Wildfires across the Pacific Northwest have forced tens of thousands of evacuations, cut power to thousands, and destroyed hundreds of structures, Axios reports. In the Spokane area, three fires known collectively as the Spokane Complex Fire prompted Washington Governor Bob Ferguson to declare a statewide emergency, citing drought, high heat, and high winds. Oregon has 32 active large fires, the most of any state, and per Axios has set a modern record for acres burned with nearly two months of fire season still to go. Nationally, this year's wildfire activity is already running above the ten-year average, with 45,835 fires having burned more than 5.2 million acres so far.

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