(NewsNation) — Record-breaking heat, fast-moving wildfires and severe drought are plaguing the U.S. in what some experts are calling summer “danger season.”
“The sooner we can recognize that we have this period of the year where these risks are really amplified, the sooner we can start to prepare and really make sure we’re not getting pummeled by these kinds of events year after year,” USC principal climate scientist Kristina Dahl said.
The National Interagency Fire Center was tracking more than 30 active wildfires as of Tuesday morning — burning around one million acres across five states.
That included the Arizona Pipeline fire burning 5,000 acres, the New Mexico Midnight Fire burning nearly 4,000 acres and the California sheep fire burning almost a thousand acres.
“There’s no one single cause to wildfires. And they’re worsening trends,” Dahl said. “But we know that climate, forest management, fire suppression and development patterns are all playing roles.”
As scientists work to understand the impacts of extreme weather on our environment — they say all signs point to climate change and the burning of greenhouse gases as the primary cause.
Those same experts say that if we want our kids to be able to play outside during summer and breathe in fresh air, it’s all dependent on our climate system, which can be controlled if we just pay attention.
“We need to be looking out for one another and thinking nationally about how we prevent climate change from getting worse and how we prepare people for what is coming down the line,” Dahl said.
This Friday, June 10, 2022, aerial photo provided by the Bureau of Land Management Alaska Fire Service shows a tundra fire burning near the community of St. Mary’s, Alaska. The largest documented wildfire burning through tundra in southwest Alaska was within miles St. Mary’s and another nearby Alaska Native village, Pitkas Point, prompting officials Friday to urge residents to prepare for possible evacuation. (Ryan McPherson/Bureau of Land Management Alaska Fire Service via AP)
This June 10, 2022, aerial photo provided by the Bureau of Land Management Alaska Fire Service shows a tundra fire burning near the community of St. Mary’s, Alaska. The largest documented wildfire burning through tundra in southwest Alaska was within miles St. Mary’s and another nearby Alaska Native village, Pitkas Point, prompting officials Friday to urge residents to prepare for possible evacuation. (Ryan McPherson/Bureau of Land Management Alaska Fire Service via AP)
Residents walk by as smoke rises from the Sheep Fire burning in Wrightwood, Calif., Sunday, June 12, 2022. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)
Residents watch as smoke rises from the Sheep Fire burning in Wrightwood, Calif., Sunday, June 12, 2022. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)
A firefighter watches as the Sheep Fire burns in Wrightwood, Calif., Sunday, June 12, 2022. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)
A firefighter watches as a helicopter drops water on the Sheep Fire burning in Wrightwood, Calif., Sunday, June 12, 2022. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)
Janetta Kathleen and her horse, Squish, watch as smoke rises above neighborhoods on the outskirts of Flagstaff, Ariz., Sunday, June 12, casts a glow above neighborhoods. Evacuations have been ordered for homes in the area. Authorities say firefighters are responding to the wildfire about six miles north of Flagstaff that has forced evacuations. (AP Photo/Felicia Fonseca)
A fire engine is seen as the Sheep fire burns in Wrightwood, Calif., Monday, June 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)
The Sheep fire burns in Wrightwood, Calif., Monday, June 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)
Wind whips embers from a power line pole burned by the Sheep fire in Wrightwood, Calif., Monday, June 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)
A firefighter watches as the Sheep fire burns in Wrightwood, Calif., Monday, June 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)
The Sheep fire burns in Wrightwood, Calif., Monday, June 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)
The moon is seen as the Sheep fire burns in Wrightwood, Calif., Monday, June 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)
In this photo provided Caltrans, crews work to clear a multiple slides along Highway 70 in the Feather River Canyon near Belden, Calif., Sunday, June 12, 2022. A 50-mile (80-km) stretch of the highway was closed indefinitely on Monday after mud, boulders and dead trees inundated lanes during flash floods along a wildfire burn scar. There was no estimate for when the mountain route might reopen. (Caltrans via AP)
In this photo provided Caltrans, crews work to clear a multiple slides along Highway 70 in the Feather River Canyon near Belden, Calif., Sunday, June 12, 2022. A 50-mile (80-km) stretch of the highway was closed indefinitely on Monday after mud, boulders and dead trees inundated lanes during flash floods along a wildfire burn scar. There was no estimate for when the mountain route might reopen. (Caltrans via AP)
In this photo provided Caltrans, crews work to clear a multiple slides along Highway 70 in the Feather River Canyon near Belden, Calif., Sunday, June 12, 2022. A 50-mile (80-km) stretch of the highway was closed indefinitely on Monday after mud, boulders and dead trees inundated lanes during flash floods along a wildfire burn scar. There was no estimate for when the mountain route might reopen. (Caltrans via AP)
This photo provided by Nate Nise from Lowell Observatory shows smoke from the Pipeline Fire over the mountains above Flagstaff, Ariz., on Monday, June 13, 2023. A wildfire burning on the outskirts of the city has forced the evacuation of several hundred homes. (Nate Nise/Lowell Observatory via AP)
This photo provided by Nate Nise from Lowell Observatory shows smoke from the Pipeline Fire over the mountains above Flagstaff, Ariz., on Monday, June 13, 2023. A wildfire burning on the outskirts of the city has forced the evacuation of several hundred homes. (Nate Nise/Lowell Observatory via AP)
The Pipeline Fire burns in the mountains above Flagstaff, Ariz., Sunday, June 12, 2022. The fire has forced the evacuation of several hundred homes. (Jake Bacon/Arizona Daily Sun via AP)
People evacuate their home as the Pipeline Fire burns in the mountains above Flagstaff, Ariz., Sunday, June 12, 2022. The fire has forced the evacuation of several hundred homes. (Jake Bacon/Arizona Daily Sun via AP)
