Fire Season Wanes

National forests

Early fall rains last week have either extinguished or helped firefighters contain major forest fires on the country’s national forests.

Almost 6 million acres of grasslands, forests and private lands have been torched by wildfires this season, mostly on private lands, reports the Interagency Fire Center in Boise.

The center reports there have been 89,309 wildfires affecting 5.9 million acres nationwide this year. Among those fires, 10,353 were on national forests, accounting for only 19 percent of the total acreage affected by fire.