Forest Fires in California: Image of the Day

In the last week of June 2008, California was the focal point of national fire activity. Over the first weekend of summer, record-breaking lightning activity in the state triggered hundreds of wildfires. Vegetation was dry due to months of drought, and some of the fires spread rapidly. As of June 26, the National Interagency Fire Center reported that 34 uncontained large forest fires were burning in the state, affecting nearly 190,000 acres. (That total does not count fires that are being allowed to burn with minimal management to benefit the ecosystem.)