Firefighters are battling the first major wildfires of the 2012 season in Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico.

In Arizona, four separate fires, as yet uncontained, have engulfed nearly 21,000 acres, turning them to cinders and ashes.

Beginning on May 13, one of the Arizona fires, named Gladiator because it began at a residence on a street with the same name, has burned 5,400 acres about one mile east of the historic town of Crown King. More than 460 firefighters are working to keep the fire away from the area, which includes some 300 residences. Three hundred and fifty residents have been evacuated.

High winds and dry conditions from drought have fanned the flames, and fire officials are expecting much of the same conditions to continue. Fire and weather experts believe that Arizona, New Mexico and Texas will have above-normal potential for fires throughout 2012.

Although some experts see this as a slow start to the wildfire season, this could be a catastrophic warning of what is to come considering that during 2011, a total of 73,484 wildfires burned an estimated 8,706,852 acres of land across the United States, as reported by the Earth Sky website. Wildfire activity during 2011 was exceptionally high and was only exceeded in the historical record by wildfire activity during the years 2006 and 2007. Could 2012 exceed 2011?

Why is America again threatened by a another summer of raging wildfires? Is it possible that God may have something to do with it?

Most people have difficulty believing that God would have anything to do with a raging wildfire.

Yet, the Bible is filled with promises of God blessing obedient people with ample rainfall and cursing disobedient people with drought, which can lead to raging wildfires.

God promises the modern-day nations of Israel (for more on who these nations are, request our free book The United States and Britain in Prophecy), upon obedience to His commandments, “rain in due season” so the “land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit” (Leviticus 26:4).

However, God also says the modern-day nations of Israel will experience curses if they don’t obey. Amos 4:7 says, “And also I have withholden the rain from you, when there were yet three months to the harvest: and I caused it to rain upon one city, and caused it not to rain upon another city: one piece was rained upon, and the piece whereupon it rained not withered.” God is sending severe and extreme droughts, as well as raging wildfires, to motivate people in this nation to repent.

The raging wildfires our nation has experienced over the last decade are warnings of far greater disasters that the U.S. and the world will soon experience. Powerful forces of nature are yet to be fully unleashed (see Revelation 6:5-8 and Revelation 8:4-12). Relief from raging wildfires will only come if we repent. For more information related to this subject, read our booklet Why ‘Natural’ Disasters?