This is interesting, don’t you think? The U.S. is on track for its quietest wildfire year since 1998 (3.3 million acres), and firefighter deaths (7 firefighters) are the lowest on record, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. USA Today reports, “The USA is on track for its quietest wildfire year since 1998, and firefighter deaths are the lowest on record, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.”
According to NOAA, “The first eight months of 2010 tied the same period in 1998 for the warmest combined land and ocean surface temperature on record worldwide. Meanwhile, the June–August summer was the second warmest on record globally after 1998, and last month was the third warmest August on record. Separately, last month’s global average land surface temperature was the second warmest on record for August, while the global ocean surface temperature tied with 1997 as the sixth warmest for August.”
It’s interesting that 1998 and 2010 are labeled as the two hottest years on record, yet in the US will be lowest acres burned and lives lost.