A good Fourth of July celebration often isn't the same without a few fireworks (though you'll still never watch that video you recorded) — the pyrotechnics can sometimes come at a price to the natural surroundings, however.
We might have started the fire
A 2020 study by Mietkiewicz et al., originally published in The Conversation, found that the number of human-caused wildfires often spikes in the days around July 4th, with the soaring figures often attributed to the widespread use of fireworks during the holiday.
This regular uptick exacerbates the pre-existing issue of human-caused wildfires in the US. In fact nearly 85% of wildfires between 2000 and 2017 were caused by humans according to data cited by the National Park Service.
Although fireworks are often the culprit around the 4th, other common human-sourced causes such as unattended campfires, burning materials and intentional acts of arson all contribute to a large number of wildfires. That is particularly true in the summer months, which tend to be the most dogged by wildfires due to the perfect storm of higher temperatures and drier conditions.
