CG lightning can occur with both positive and negative polarity. The polarity is that of the charge in the region that originated the lightning leaders. An average bolt of negative lightning carries an electric current of 30,000 amperes (30 kA), and transfers 15 coulombs of electric charge and 500 megajoules of energy.
Statewide, 19 wildfires greater than 1,000 acres in area are currently raging, according to the NIFC. The active fires have ravaged more than 630,000 acres, destroying approximately 200 homes and threatening another 12,000, according to Washington state officials.
Northern Canada is On Fire, And It's Making Global Warming Worse. Wildfires have burned six times as many acres as normal this year in the Northwest Territories. Birch Creek Complex Fires, as glimpsed on July 15, 2014. Nwtfire/Facebook. This article originally appeared at Climate Central and is reproduced here with permission. For the past few weeks, dry and warm weather have fueled large forest fires across Canada's remote Northwest Territories.