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Scorching more than the area of Denmark, 2015 worst U.S. wildfire year on record

Wildfires in the western United States have made 2015 the country’s most devastating fire year since at least 1960, despite the relatively small number of individual fires.

More than 11 million acres (4.5 million hectares) have been burned in fires this year as of Friday, according to data from the National Interagency Fire Center.

That vast acreage — greater than the size of Denmark — is expected to rise over the remainder of the year, but it makes 2015 already the first year in at least five and a half decades to exceed 10 million acres burned, according to NIFC data.

That damage was done by 51,110 fires. By contrast, the last time U.S. wildfires burned more than 9 million acres by Oct. 8, in 2006, the number of fires totaled 84,578.

Scorching more than the area of Denmark, 2015 worst U.S. wildfire year on record