Call it the "media center effect".
Every hurricane approaching New York City gets 24/7 coverage, every fire in the hills above Los Angeles is the hottest ever.
The classic example is Wisconsin's Great Peshtigo fire which started on the same day, October 8, 1871, as the Great Chicago Fire.
The Peshtigo fire, 250 miles north of the Chicago conflagration killed at least 1500, and more likely 2500, people while burning 1.2 million acres versus the Chicago toll of 2000 acres and 250 - 300 lives.
Here's the National Interagency Fire Center data through December 27, 2019:
| Daily statistics 12/27/19 | ||
| Number of new large fires or emergency response | 2 | States currently reporting large fires: |
| Number of active large fires Total does not include individual fires within complexes. |
1 | Oklahoma (1) |
| Acres from active fires | 550 | |
| Fires contained | 2 | |
| Year-to-date statistics | ||
| 2019 (1/1/19 - 12/27/19) | Fires: 49,661 | Acres: 4,628,275 |
| 2018 (1/1/18 - 12/27/18) | Fires: 55,911 | Acres: 8,582,609 |
| 2017 (1/1/17 - 12/27/17) | Fires: 66,076 | Acres: 9,642,322 |
| 2016 (1/1/16 - 12/27/16) | Fires: 63,208 | Acres: 5,438,753 |
| 2015 (1/1/15 - 12/27/15) | Fires: 61,023 | Acres: 9,954,123 |
| 2014 (1/1/14 - 12/27/14) | Fires: 63,338 | Acres: 3,587,554 |
| 2013 (1/1/13 - 12/27/13) | Fires: 46,615 | Acres: 4,307,176 |
| 2012 (1/1/12 - 12/27/12) | Fires: 67,364 | Acres: 9,208,387 |
| 2011 (1/1/11 - 12/27/11) | Fires: 72,539 | Acres: 8,642,306 |
| 2010 (1/1/10 - 12/27/10) | Fires: 68,694 | Acres: 3,382,167 |
| 2009 (1/1/09 - 12/27/09) | Fires: 78,989 | Acres: 6,379,245 |
| 10-year average Year-to-Date | ||
| 2009-2018 | Fires: 64,257 | Acres: 6,905,577 |
...MORE
The final figures will be available on Friday January 2, but I may not be.
