Much of the western one-third of the U.S remains in a severe to extreme drought, a big reason there have been so many wildfires out West.

Historically, most wildland fires are caused by humans, but lightning-induced fires actually burn more acreage. Through the first six months of the year, the three western states most affected have been Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. Nationwide, in the same time period, about 2.8 million acres - an area more than twice the size of the state of Delaware - have been affected by a total of around 45,000 separate fires. That's about the average number of wildland fires through June, but primarily due to the drought, the acreage burned is more than double what's average.

You can find current and historical information about wildland fires on the web at the National Interagency Fire Center at www.nifc.gov, a cooperative venture of several government agencies including the U.S. Forest Service, the National Park Service, and the National Weather Service.