A New Mexico wildfire that has burned an area more than one and a half times the size of New York City was initially sparked by prescribed burns lit by the U.S. Forest Service, investigators announced late last week.
The news quickly prompted withering criticism and claims on social media that climate change played no role in what has become New Mexico's largest wildfire on record. A good example is this Tweet from Steve Milloy, a prominent climate science denier: "Biden regime started New Mexico's largest-ever wildfire. Not global warming."
In truth, global warming doesn't spontaneously "start" fires. But whether humans or lightning provide the initial spark, soils and vegetation made drier by a warming climate are more likely to catch fire and result in a large, raging blaze.
That’s not just common sense. Multiple studies support this picture, showing that warmer temperatures and earlier spring snowmelt have spurred significant increases in the size and frequency of wildfires in the western United States.
Almost all of the West now is in drought, and large portions are experiencing extreme to exceptional drought — the two most intense categories. That includes almost all of New Mexico. So it should come as no surprise that any small fire could easily turn into a large, intense one, no matter the cause.
