It is California’s wildfire season, and some producers are in the path of the flames.
USDA Meteorologist Brad Rippey says that a combination of factors has turned the region into a tinderbox.
“One of the big factors has been that we have seen mostly dry weather in California, much of the Great Basin, large part of the intermountain west, and extending into the northwest for several months now, generally dry conditions with only a few exceptions. We did see monsoon activity in the southwest, but that too has tapered off and given the conditions with the heat building into the southwest this week. It does take long to cure some of those finer fuels and get fires started. Keeping an eye on the dry conditions, low humidity levels, gusty winds, and then we have pre-existing fires that can spread further, and the concern for new wildfires being ignited by dry thunderstorms.”
Rippey says that he is watching the Gifford Fire in southern California. It started a week ago and has scored more than 70,000 acres, fueled by tall grass and brush.
“It is starting to spread into some forested areas, so that is a big concern as it is much closer to larger population centers than the other western wildfire. Containment on that fire is minimal at this point, and weather conditions are, albeit fairly cool, but otherwise not particularly favorable for containment as we do see dry weather, gusty winds, and lots of cured fuels available to this fire.”
Another major fire is also burning in northern Arizona. The Dragon Bravo Fire caused extensive damage along the northern rim of the Grand Canyon back in July.
After a brief lull in activity, that fire picked back up and has now become the largest wildfire in the U.S. so far this year.
