Fire risk linked to global warming Global warming and past management practices are making forests in the Western United States more susceptible to fire, according to a report released Thursday. Large wildfires, like two that burned thousands of acres in Utah last year, are blamed for making climate change worse and putting unnatural stress on ecosystems, the National Wildlife Federation report said. The report, "Increased Risk of Catastrophic Wildfires: Global Warming's Wake-Up Call for the Western United States," claims global warming is increasing the risk of fires because of rising temperatures, drier conditions, more lightning from stronger storms, added dry fuel for fires and a longer fire season. Those factors have combined with decades of fire-suppression tactics that allowed unsafe fuel loads to accumulate, as well as severe bark-beetle infestations that are rapidly decimating trees and ever-expanding human settlements in and near forests, the report said. "The result is increasing vulnerability to major fires."....