<div dir="ltr"><div><strong>Tues. 10-11-16 Lewiston Tribune featured as the front page headline article information about this PNAS paper.  The PNAS abstract is lower down:</strong></div><div><br></div><div><a href="http://lmtribune.com/northwest/study-forest-fires-flourishing-from-human-caused-climate-change/article_974a5880-9d8d-59ed-918f-cad5f5f7f035.html">http://lmtribune.com/northwest/study-forest-fires-flourishing-from-human-caused-climate-change/article_974a5880-9d8d-59ed-918f-cad5f5f7f035.html</a><span></span></div><div><br></div><div><font size="4">Study: Forest fires flourishing from human-caused climate change    </font> <h2 class="gmail-subhead">Wild land burned in West nearly doubled from 1979</h2><div class="gmail-meta"><ul class="gmail-list-inline"><li>By ERIC BARKER of the Tribune</li>                             <li><span class="gmail-text-muted">Updated </span><time class="gmail-asset-date gmail-text-muted" datetime="8:32 am, Tue Oct 11, 2016">Oct 11, 2016<span></span></time></li></ul></div><time class="gmail-asset-date gmail-text-muted" datetime="8:32 am, Tue Oct 11, 2016"><span><div class="gmail-subscriber-preview"><p>Human-caused climate change has dramatically increased the scope of wildfires over the past three decades by increasing the degree to which Western forests dry during summer months.</p></div><div class="gmail-subscriber-preview"><p>According to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Monday, human-caused climate change has almost doubled the amount of forest land burned in the West since 1979, accounting for an additional 16,000 square miles or more than 10.2 million acres.</p></div></span><p><span><span>---------------------------------------------</span></span></p><p><span><span><a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2016/10/05/1607171113.abstract">http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2016/10/05/1607171113.abstract</a><span></span></span></span></p><span><span></span></span></time></div><div><time class="gmail-asset-date gmail-text-muted" datetime="8:32 am, Tue Oct 11, 2016"><span><span><h1 id="gmail-article-title-1">Impact of anthropogenic climate change on wildfire across western US forests</h1><div class="gmail-contributors"><ol class="gmail-contributor-list" id="gmail-contrib-group-1"><li class="gmail-contributor" id="gmail-contrib-1"><span class="gmail-name"><a class="gmail-name-search" href="http://www.pnas.org/search?author1=John+T.+Abatzoglou&sortspec=date&submit=Submit"><font color="#000080">John T. Abatzoglou</font></a></span><a class="gmail-xref-aff" id="gmail-xref-aff-1-1" href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2016/10/05/1607171113.abstract#aff-1">^{<font color="#000080" size="2">a</font>}</a><span class="gmail-xref-sep">,</span><a class="gmail-xref-corresp" id="gmail-xref-corresp-1-1" href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2016/10/05/1607171113.abstract#corresp-1">^{<font color="#000080" size="2">1</font>}</a> and                                </li>                               <li class="gmail-last" id="gmail-contrib-2"><span class="gmail-name"><a class="gmail-name-search" href="http://www.pnas.org/search?author1=A.+Park+Williams&sortspec=date&submit=Submit"><font color="#000080">A. Park Williams</font></a></span><a class="gmail-xref-aff" id="gmail-xref-aff-2-1" href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2016/10/05/1607171113.abstract#aff-2">^{<font color="#000080" size="2">b</font>}</a></li> <span><span></span></span></ol><ol class="gmail-contributor-list"><span><span></span></span></ol><ol class="gmail-contributor-list"><span><span></span></span></ol><ol class="gmail-contributor-list"><span><span></span></span></ol><ol class="gmail-contributor-list"><span><span></span></span></ol><ol class="gmail-contributor-list"><span><span></span></span></ol><ol class="gmail-contributor-list"><span><span></span></span></ol><ol class="gmail-contributor-list"><span><span></span></span></ol><ol class="gmail-contributor-list"><span><span><h2>Significance</h2><p id="gmail-p-4">Increased forest fire activity across the western United States in recent decades has contributed to widespread forest mortality,                              carbon emissions, periods of degraded air quality, and substantial fire suppression expenditures. Although numerous factors                              aided the recent rise in fire activity, observed warming and drying have significantly increased fire-season fuel aridity,                              fostering a more favorable fire environment across forested systems. We demonstrate that human-caused climate change caused                              over half of the documented increases in fuel aridity since the 1970s and doubled the cumulative forest fire area since 1984.                              This analysis suggests that anthropogenic climate change will continue to chronically enhance the potential for western US                              forest fire activity while fuels are not limiting. <span><span><br></span></span></p></span><p id="gmail-p-4"><p id="gmail-p-4"></p></p></span></ol></div></span></span></time><p>---------------------------------------</p><p>Vision2020 Post: Ted Moffett<br></p></div></div>