Philip Higuera

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Rocky Mountain fires leave telltale ash layers in nearby lakes like this one. Philip Higuera

What 2,500 years of wildfire evidence and the extreme fire seasons of 1910 and 2020 tell us about the future of fire in the West

Kyra Clark-Wolf, University of Colorado Boulder and Philip Higuera, University of Montana

As the climate warms, devastating fires are increasingly likely. The 2020 fires pushed the Southern Rockies beyond the historical average. Is there hope for the Northern Rockies?
Hotter-burning fires and a warming climate make it harder for seedlings to survive. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

The West’s iconic forests are increasingly struggling to recover from wildfires – altering how fires burn could boost their chances

Kimberley Davis, United States Forest Service; Jamie Peeler, University of Montana, and Philip Higuera, University of Montana

Over 50 fire ecologists across the Western U.S. took an unprecedented look at how forests in thousands of locations are recovering from fire in a changing climate. The results were alarming.
The fire risk goes beyond rising temperatures and dry conditions. Samuel Corum / AFP via Getty Images

Western wildfires destroyed 246% more homes and buildings over the past decade – fire scientists explain what’s changing

Philip Higuera, University of Montana; Jennifer Balch, University of Colorado Boulder; Maxwell Cook, University of Colorado Boulder, and Natasha Stavros, University of Colorado Boulder

More homes are burning in wildfires in nearly every Western state. The reason? Humans.
In heat and drought like the western U.S. and Canada are experiencing in 2021, all it takes is a spark to start a wildfire. Jim Watson/Getty Images

Skip the fireworks this record‑dry 4th of July, over 150 wildfire scientists urge the US West

Philip Higuera, University of Montana; Alexander L. Metcalf, University of Montana; Dave McWethy, Montana State University, and Jennifer Balch, University of Colorado Boulder

Every year, the number of wildfires caused by humans spikes on Independence Day. There are safer ways to celebrate amid the heat and drought.
Colorado’s East Troublesome Fire jumped the Continental Divide on Oct. 22, 2020, and eventually became Colorado’s second-largest fire on record. Lauren Dauphin/NASA Earth Observatory

Rocky Mountain forests burning more now than any time in the past 2,000 years

Philip Higuera, University of Montana; Bryan Shuman, University of Wyoming, and Kyra Clark-Wolf, University of Montana

Scientists studied charcoal layers in the sediment of lake beds across the Rockies to track fires over time. They found increasing fire activity as the climate warmed.

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