Wildfires

May is National Wildfire awareness month. A wildfire is an unplanned fire that burns in natural areas like forests, grasslands, or prairies. As many as 90 percent of wildfires in the United States are caused be people, according to the U.S. Department of Interior. Some human-caused fires are a result of campfires left unattended, the burning of debris, downed power lines, negligently discarded cigarettes, and intentional acts of arson. The remaining 10 percent are started by lightning or lava. These dangerous fires spread quickly and can devastate not only wildlife and natural areas, but also communities.