Map Shows Active and Growing Wildfires in US

A man has been charged with arson after allegedly starting fires with a shotgun in New Jersey.
Richard Shashaty, 37, has also been charged with violating the regulatory provisions related to firearms, according to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. Officials said that the Shotgun Fire was caused by magnesium shared from a shotgun igniting combustibles in a shooting range. As a result, 15 homes were evacuated last week, and an additional 25 were threatened by the wildfire, according to the New Jersey Forest Fire Service.
The Shotgun Fire is just one of many blazing across the country. There are many active and growing flames as hundreds flee their houses in California, Oregon, Texas, New Jersey and more.
The United States has endured an intense wildfire season, with 8.1 million acres burned so far—well above the annual average of around 7 million acres over the past decade, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
In California alone, wildfires have already scorched more than three times the land area compared to this time last year, when the fire season was relatively mild, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) reports.
California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in Ventura County last week after a fire that began on Wednesday morning at approximately 8:50 a.m. near the 7900 block of Balcom Canyon Road and Bradley Road spread to more than 6,000 acres in one day due to 55 mph Santa Ana winds, which gusted up to 100 mph at one point.
“This is a dangerous fire that is spreading quickly and is threatening lives,” Newsom said in his emergency declaration.
The Mountain Fire in Southern California has destroyed over 130 structures and injured at least six people. CAL FIRE said late Sunday morning that the fire had burned through 20,640 acres, and only 26 percent had been contained.
Across the country, in New York, millions of people are being urged to limit strenuous outdoor activities as wildfire smoke blankets the region. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) issued an air quality alert for the New York City metro area on Sunday, warning that smoke from multiple wildfires across the state and nearby New Jersey is elevating fine particulate matter to levels deemed “unhealthy for sensitive groups.”
The fires come amid a prolonged drought in the region, which city officials say is worsening fire risk and hampering containment efforts. Zachary Iscol, New York City’s commissioner of emergency management, told The New York Times that the region’s drought would continue over the next two months.
A New York Parks and Recreation worker died while battling one of the several wildfires in the New Jersey region. 18-year-old Dariel Vasquez was fighting a fire near the New Jersey border in Greenwood Lake. Officials said a tree fell on him.
Brush fires also encompassed Massachusetts, where they are recently becoming more contained. A woman died in an outdoor fire at an encampment, as the dry and windy conditions raised the risk of wildfires in southern New England.
In Kentucky and Ohio, a fire on a Cincinnati playground significantly damaged the Daniel Carter Beard Bridge. Even after the main blaze was extinguished, flames rekindled for several hours.
Lightning has been the main cause of the fires in Wyoming, which continue to grow. At the time of writing, the Clearwater and Elk Fires encompass over 100,000 acres in total.
According to science outlet Phys.org, fires are growing in size and duration throughout the country. Fire seasons have also lengthened, and federal officials are now tasked with juggling resources and shifting to wildfire management.