Drought, extreme temperatures and thousands of lightning bolts each day have created the perfect storm for wildfires Alaska's interior. Pictured is a wildfire that has burned 780,000 acres near Lime Village, Alaska
More than 2.4 million acres have burned this year by wildfires, which is double the acreage that is typically scorched at this point in the state's wildfire season.
The Alaska wildfire season typically begins in late May and ends in late July, and the National Park Services states that, on average, one million acres burn statewide each year.
The blazes are being ignited by lightning strikes plaguing the state - nearly 25,000 bolts were detected between June 28 and July 4 and more than 10,000 have hit since then.
There are only about 1,000 firefighters in the interior of the state who are tirelessly working around the clock to put out more than 225 fires, which are forcing hundreds of residents from their homes.
Rick Thoman, an Alaska climate specialist at the University of Fairbanks, wrote for The Conversation: 'Early in the season, southwest Alaska was one of the few areas in the state with below normal snowpack.
'Then we had a warm spring, and southwest Alaska dried out. An outbreak of thunderstorms there in late May and early June provided the spark.'
More than 2.4 million acres have burned this year, which is double the land that is typically scorched at this point in the state's wildfire season. Pictured is the Minto Lakes Fire that has burned more than 30,000 acres
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