Researchers from Colorado State University focused on areas they call “late snow zones” – regions in the Western mountains where snow doesn’t typically melt until May or later.
They found that between 1984 and 2020, wildfire activity increased in 70% of these zones throughout the West. The mountain ranges studied included the Sierra Nevada, Cascades, Basin and Range, and Northern and Southern Rockies.
Bounded by the Bitterroot Mountains to the west and the Sapphire Mountains to the east, Montana’s Bitterroot Valley is home to renowned fly fishing streams and soaring vistas. Its forests, however, are facing the greatest wildfire risk in the entire state, with towns like Florence, Victor and Darby all in the nation’s 98th-plus percentile for risk. Yet houses continue to be built at a rapid clip, many of them in hazardous areas.
Theoretically, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, a $1.2 trillion bill that funds improvements in transportation, water, energy, broadband and climate resilience projects, should be able to help.
The wet winter the American south-west has hoped for as it battles extreme drought and heat is increasingly unlikely to materialize as scientists now predict that a phenomenon known as La Niña will develop for the second year in a row.
The weather system could intensify the worst effects of the drought that much of the region already finds itself in, including higher wildfire risks and water shortages through 2022.
The economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting urban and rural communities across California. Congress is exploring economic recovery legislation that includes investments in workforce development and infrastructure. And in Sacramento, there have been discussions about focusing future climate and natural resource bonds on economic recovery.
As federal and state decision-makers evaluate the options, they should consider putting Californians to work on improving the health of the state’s headwater forests. This approach would alleviate economic hardships while reducing wildfire risk and generating a suite of other benefits for forest-based communities and the state.
Crews from the Fallbrook Public Utility District are helping rebuild water services in Paradise, Calif. after the devastating November 2018 Camp Fire.
The Camp Fire burned 153,336 acres, destroyed 18,793 structures, caused 85 deaths and three firefighter injuries. The Camp Fire is the deadliest, most destructive fire in California’s history, according to CAL FIRE.
Colter Shannon and Austin Wendt left the FPUD yard Sept. 22 to make the 565-mile, 10-hour drive to Paradise. On Sept. 29, two more FPUD crew members, Toby Stoneburner and Matt Perez, will depart for the Butte County town. Each two-member team will spend two days driving and five days working on repairs for a total of seven days.
“I just want to help,” said Wendt. “That town went through devastation and I can actually do something to physically help. My wife and I always send backpacks to places devastated by hurricanes. For the most recent one, we sent 25 backpacks stuffed with school supplies.”
The Paradise Irrigation District is still struggling to repair the damaged infrastructure that resulted in more than 10,500 customers being issued a “do not drink” water advisory.
Two other San Diego County water agencies recently helped Camp Fire recovery efforts. Six water professionals from the Helix Water District and Padre Dam Municipal Water District spent one week in August assisting the Paradise Irrigation District.
Their time away won’t cost FPUD a penny as their labor is reimbursed by FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
“We’re doing this because we recognize that we are in a fire-prone area here in Fallbrook,” said Jack Bebee, FPUD general manager.
The Rice Fire in 2007 burned 206 homes, 9,472 acres, two commercial properties, and 40 outbuildings in the Fallbrook area. Bebee said he knows Fallbrook may one day need the help the crews are now providing to Paradise.
He said the crews can bring back with them some of the lessons they learn from the destruction and repair work. Bebee said the district is also working with North County Fire on emergency preparedness and the FPUD board room has been set up as an emergency command center in the event it is needed.
The winds notorious for fueling Southern California wildfires were expected to kick up for the first time this year on Sunday night, putting the region on alert, according to the National Weather Service. The season’s first major Santa Ana winds may reach gusts of up to 75 mph in the region’s mountains, creating critical fire weather conditions through Tuesday night. Last year, the winds drove the Thomas Fire, which destroyed more than 280,000 acres in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. and took more than a month to contain.
Encinitas, CA—Olivenhain Municipal Water District invites local residents to attend a workshop that will cover the fundamentals of landscaping for fire protection. This free event will be held on Thursday, October 18, from 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at Elfin Forest Recreational Reserve’s Interpretive Center Honoring Susan J. Varty.
This month will go down as San Diego’s hottest August on record. It was the second hottest month, any time of year, in city history. The month set or tied 15 daily records for either the highest maximum or minimum temperature. The August heat follows a similarly toasty July, making the July/August combination the second hottest in city history. And the heat comes near the tail end of the second driest rainfall season on record, dating back to 1850. The heat and the prolonged dryness set up the county for a challenging fall, which historically is when the region’s biggest and most destructive wildfires have struck.
Droughts don’t just make a place drier. As new research shows, they also make it hotter. A team from UC Irvine that compared temperature changes across the U.S. found that temperatures rise faster in places under drought conditions than they do in places with average climates. This relationship could also raise the risk of concurrent heatwaves and wildfires, the researchers say. As global warming continues its upward climb, the phenomenon described in the journal Science Advances highlights another complex feedback loop that contributes to more extreme weather events — events that could have serious implications for human health and safety.
Southland fire officials issued dire warnings Thursday about the upcoming fire season, saying they are preparing for daily outbreaks of vegetation blazes and calling on residents to act now to clear brush around homes and other structures. Los Angeles County Fire Chief Daryl Osby and fire officials from the Inland Empire to Orange County also reminded residents that they need to do their part to prevent fires from erupting.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
