SDSU Professor an Expert on Mega-Wildfires
According to a study done on wildfires and rising temperatures, the average number of acres that has burned in the past decade has more than doubled since the 1980's.
Mark Cochrane, a fire ecology professor at South Dakota State University, just finished a study on the subject and says large wildfires are a reality of climate change.
Cochrane found the length of the global fire season has increased nearly 19% since 1979. He says wildfires today are being fueled by hotter temperatures and extreme weather.
"It's like something we've never seen before; like something out of a movie."
The massive wildfire currently burning in Alberta, Canada near Fort McMurray is the most recent "mega-wildfire", and has already charred hundreds of thousands of acres.
Cochrane says whether we want to admit it or not, the increase in large mega-wildfires is in fact a direct result of climate change and warming temperatures.
(Source: ABC Radio News)