USFS Climate Gallery - Changing Wildfire, Changing Forests StoryMap

A warming climate will have profound effects on fire frequency, extent, and severity in the Pacific Northwest. Increased temperatures, decreased snowpack, and earlier snowmelt will likely lead to longer fire seasons, lower fuel moisture, higher likelihood of large fires, and greater area burned by wildfire. Interactions between fire and other disturbance agents (e.g., drought, insect outbreaks) will likely drive ecosystem changes in a warming climate. Increased tree stress and interacting effects of drought, insects, and disease may also contribute to increasing wildfire severity and area burned. Climatic changes and associated stressors will interact with vegetation conditions, as affected by historical land uses such as tree harvest and fire suppression, to affect fire regimes and forest conditions in the future.