Google says, when asked "why were American wildfires so severe in 1928?": American wildfires and total acreage burned were exceptionally high during the late 1920s and 1928 due to a combination of severe regional dry spells, accumulated timber debris from historical logging, and early federal policies that were just beginning to grapple with large-scale fire containment. [1, 2, 3, 4] Key Contributing Factors Prolonged Drought: The 1920s experienced significant decadal peaks in dry conditions across North American climate divisions, drastically lowering moisture levels in forest undergrowth. [1] Logging Debris ("Slash"): Decades of extensive timber harvesting left behind massive amounts of dry tree tops, limbs, and dead organic waste that acted as ready-made tinder. [1, 2, 3] Evolving Suppression Policies: The U.S. Forest Service struggled with balancing active fire prevention versus controlled light burning, establishing strict caps (such as suppressing fires over 10 acres in 1926) before moving toward total suppression mandates in the 1930s. [1] If you're interested, I can also share details on: How annual acreage burned in the 1920s compares to modern fire seasons The specific regional policies enacted by the U.S. Forest Service during this decade
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