This year’s US wildfires have already set records that could foreshadow a smoky, fiery summer

Recently released data show how drought, paltry Western snows and unseasonable heat, all exacerbated by climate change, could be priming the nation for a long wildfire season.

More fires in what has historically been a wetter part of the year “is becoming less a trend, more a pattern and normality,” said Timothy Ingalsbee, co-founder and executive director of Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics, and Ecology. “It is a clear signal of ongoing climate change.”