Erratic and generally lessening snowfall in mountains across the American West is complicating controlled winter burns crucial for managing wildfires year-round, the AP reports. Snow cover enables small crews to conduct controlled burns used to reduce forests’ fuel density and thus the explosiveness of firestorms. Climate change, caused mainly by the extraction and combustion of fossil fuels, is supercharging wildfires and shortening and warming winters. The dilemma illustrates how the impacts of climate change can not only compound each other but also hamper efforts to lessen their severity. (AP; Climate Signals background: Wildfires, Drought, Earlier/faster snowpack melting, Snowpack decline)