UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The western United States has witnessed a rapid uptick in wildfire activity in recent years. The 2020 fire season proved record-breaking in California, where nearly 10,000 fires burned more than 4.2 million acres of land. Park Williams, associate professor of geography at the University of California, Los Angeles, will discuss the drivers of the increased fire activity during a talk titled "Understanding the rapid recent increase in western U.S. wildfire activity." The talk, which is free and open to the public, takes place at 4 p.m. Monday, Nov. 29, via Zoom.
Williams’ talk is part of the fall 2021 EESI EarthTalks series, “Fire in the Earth System.” The series addresses humanity’s long relationship with fire, how humans and climate create conditions conducive to megafires, and how policymakers and land managers can address the fire problem. For more information about the fall 2021 series, visit the EarthTalks webpage.
The fall 2021 EESI EarthTalks series is supported by Penn State’s Earth and Environmental Systems Institute.