Fears for 2024 wildfire season after 1.7m acres burned in three months [Video]

Wildfires across the United States have destroyed more than 1.7 million acres of land in the first three months of 2024, already more than half of last year’s total.

Three large, uncontained fires are currently burning in Alabama, Missouri and Florida, according to the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC), while wildland firefighters have managed to get 23 other large fires under control this week.

So far this year, there have been 8,433 wildfires in the US, slightly below the 10-year average. However, the number of acres burned is more than triple what’s normal, NIFC said. Last year saw a total of 56,580 wildfires across the country, consuming nearly 2.7million acres.

In February, Texas had its largest wildfire in state history, leaving three people dead, and destroying more than a million acres and thousands of cattle.

Late last month, firefighters were faced with …