Western U.S. wildfires trigger evacuations

Authorities in northern Arizona have evacuated about 2,500 homes as two wildfires burn on the outskirts of the city of Flagstaff. Fire crews anticipate reduced winds Tuesday and the rest of the week that could help them control the blazes. Meanwhile, in California, about 300 remote homes northeast of Los Angeles are under evacuation orders, while another fire in Northern California’s Tehama County destroyed 10 buildings and threatened 160 structures. New Mexico is also battling wildfires that have burned through 300,000 acres and destroyed several hundred homes.

What’s fueling this year’s big fires? Wildfires broke out early this spring in multiple states across the Western United States amid a chronic drought. The total square miles burned this year is more than double the 10-year national average, and states like New Mexico have already set records.

Dig deeper: Read Rachel Lynn Aldrich’s report in The Sift on the New Mexico fires.