Tinder Dry: An Early Start to Wildfire Season in the West

Wildfires have already burned more than 1.6 million acres in Alaska this season, and blazes in Washington, Oregon, and bone-dry California have scorched thousands more, taking a number of houses and other structures with them. The fires are widespread, but have largely been contained so far. A very dry winter, low levels of snowpack, and a years-long drought in the West all point to a very active fire season in 2015, and there are months of hotter and drier weather yet to go. The images below are from just the past several weeks, and include photos from Wenatchee, Washington, where about 25 houses burned down on Sunday.

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