Wildfire season is already underway here in Idaho and meteorologists are concerned the upcoming season could see millions of acres burned.The National Interagency Fire Center says that over the last 10 years, 2026 saw the most a cres burned nationally before the month of June. Last year, 5.1 million acres burned across the U.S. and this season, 2.4 million acres have been charred.Meteorologists at AccuWeather are already predicting this season to be a tough one for the NorthWestern United States, including Idaho.We are going into the fire season with this long-term dry spell that weve been dealing with, said Chad Merrill, senior meteorologist with AccuWeather. Much of southern Idaho is in a moderate to extreme drought, whereas last year we were only dealing with moderate drought.Wildfire season can be unpredictable, but there are some indicators that can point to an idea of what to expect. The gem state is heading into summer with the second warmest winter since 1934 and the Treasure Valley area saw three times the average precipitation fall in April. These conditions, combined with an early dry spell for the state, means there's plenty of fuel for fires to burn.Hear experts talk about the upcoming wildfire season: Experts project 5.5 to 8 million acres could burn this wildfire seasonThis year, there will be near average number of fires across the northwest but the fires that get going will burn quite a bit of acreage so the number of acres will probably be above average, said Merrill.There are many factors that play into wildfire season, but Idaho News 6's Chief Meteorologist Scott Dorval says there's one factor that can make a huge difference in the summer months.I just hope we don't get as much lightning. If we can keep the lightning away, that will really help the situation. If we have a lot of lightning-caused fires, we're probably going to be in pretty big trouble, he said.Most wildfires are human-caused and Dorval says the growth in Idaho mixed with warmer and dryer Summers can lead to an uptick in fire activity across Idaho. June is forecasting to see some cooler days pass through, which will delay the most intense parts of the season in July and August. ...read more read less