document: This week 's flare-up of Western wildfires ca n't hold a candle to the damage wrought by last year 's record-breaking fire season , but officials say a dry August could change everything . Fire has charred more than 1.3 million acres of forest and range land since January in the contiguous United States , compared to 2.1 million acres by this time last year , fire officials said Monday . `` Right now , the fire season is just starting to gear up , '' said Sandi Sacher , spokeswoman at the federal government 's wildfire command post in Boise , Idaho . Nearly 10,000 firefighters in five Western states are battling hundreds of blazes , most of them sparked last week by lightning . Fire is a natural part of Western forest and range land . But some years are worse than others . Last year 's combination of heat and drought across a wide swath of the West produced a hellish summer of smoke and flame . One of the hardest-hit areas was Yellowstone National Park , where fire blackened about 1 million acres , nearly half the park 's territory . By year 's end , 6 million acres had burned in the West and Alaska , making 1988 the worst fire season in 30 years , and , in terms of firefighting resources committed , the most expensive in U.S. history , Sacher said . The widespread drought of 1988 has been replaced by spotty rain and local areas of dry weather , Sacher said . Fire danger is high this week in parts of Oregon , Nevada and Idaho , the National Weather Service said Monday . Forecasters just now are trying to get a handle on what kind of weaer August will bring , Sacher said . `` It 's arly to speculate , '' she said . `` Last year therein at all . This year , it seems to be fluctuating . You 'll get a dry period , then a front will come through and it will rain . `` They 're keeping a very close eye on the weatt , dry weather with lightning strikes , that could be serious . ''
extractive_keyphrases: western wildfires contiguous united states firefighters blazes fire danger dry weather
abstractive_keyphrases: record-breaking fire season