By just about any standard, 2012 was a massive year for U.S.
wildfires. According to data from both the National Interagency
Fire Center (NIFC) and NASA, over 9.1 million acres burned this
year… and that was only tracking until November 30th. That
figure places 2012 as the 3rd most wildfire filled year since
1960, and with the total number of fires being 55,505 – a
relatively low number – the year holds the current record for
the largest average fire size. This visualization, which depicts
fires that burned between January 1 and October 31, 2012,
displays fire intensity in a range from deep red, to orange and
yellow (indicating fires which burned more intensely and covered
a larger area). NASA’s site Earth Observatory notes that many of
the red fires were prescribed fires, lit for either agricultural
or ecosystem management purposes (a practice which looks
extremely popular in Mexico). Yellow and orange fires were
usually of the wildfire variety, often resulting from lightning
strikes and burning uncontrolled