Wildfires Race Across US as Drought Spans Half the Nation

An unusually hot, snowless winter has fueled a fast start to the spring fire season across large swaths of the western, central and southeastern US, disrupting businesses and upending daily life.

Nearly 19,000 have ignited nationwide since Jan. 1, about 6,900 more than normal compared to the past decade. In recent weeks, flames have scorched nearly 1 million acres of cattle grazing land and prairie in the Great Plains and dampened tourism in parts of the Everglades, where air boat operators have struggled to navigate dried-out swamps. Air tankers, frequently deployed over the West, are already in high demand, weeks ahead of schedule.