Studying increase in wildfires

Last fall, the Mullen fire west of Laramie raged for the better part of two months, burning more than 176,000 acres and 70 structures in Carbon and Albany counties, and in Jackson County, Colorado.

Unfortunately, this scenario was typical during the intense 2020 fire season in the Rocky Mountain region, an area of Colorado and southern Wyoming where high-elevation forests are burning more than at any point in the past 2,000 years, according to a study in which a University of Wyoming faculty member was instrumental.

“Global warming is causing larger fires in Rocky Mountain forests than have bu...