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GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) - Two dozen firefighters died last year battling wildfires across the nation, a number that has increased in the face of drier summers and increased job pressures.
The 2006 death toll is not an all-time high, but is part of a rising trend — double the number in 2005, and six more than the average of the past 10 years. The 10-year average has been rising, too, from 6.6 in the 1930s to 18 in the 2000s, according to U.S. Forest Service statistics.
Experts warn that the size and intensity of wildfires is increasing due to longer, hotter and drier summers and a buildup of fuel. Firefighters face greater dangers, particularly when trying to protect the growing number of homes in the woods.
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