There’s been even more wildfire activity in the west this year, but why? That’s coming up on This Land of Ours.
Several areas of the West have experienced an increase in wildfires over the month of July. USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey discusses some of the reasons why.
“This has been an interesting wildfire season. We’re coming off 2 rather wet years in the western United States. Really wet two years ago. Moderately wet last winter. But that doesn’t mean that the region is immune from wildfires. And in fact, sometimes during these wet winters we get a proliferation of growth of grasses in the spring and also some revival of some of the brush. And some of the lighter fuels that can be sparks for active wildfires later in the year. And of course, with the hot weather this summer, the record setting heat wave back in early July, for example, that has cured a lot of those fine fuels. And so, when there’s any type of ignition or spark, that can include lightning or human causes, such as abandoned campfires, then you can have very rapidly spreading wildfires through those finer fuels. When those fires reach the heavier fuels, and that can include dead or dying trees from years of drought in the past, or just insect-caused mortality in trees, then we have a situation where the wildfires can really proliferate.”
Listen to Sabrina Halvorson’s This Land Of Ours program here.
Sabrina Halvorson
National Correspondent / AgNet Media, Inc.
Sabrina Halvorson is an award-winning journalist, broadcaster, and public speaker who specializes in agriculture. She primarily reports on legislative issues and hosts The AgNet News Hour and The AgNet Weekly podcast. Sabrina is a native of California’s agriculture-rich Central Valley.