Monday Morning Wildfire Update: Fires Across Alaska, Flooding Across The Southwest, And The Basin Is Drying Out.
Plus a workout.
Everyone brace for what I’m about to tell you… It’s July. Someone had to break the news to you. But don’t worry… It’ll be ok.
Now that it’s July, that means a few things: 2024 is half over, and peak fire season is just getting started. Last year, the country saw 667,744 acres burned by this point in the fire season, with 23,372 fires started. This year, as of today, we have seen 2,353,261 acres burned, with less than 21,000 fires started.
That’s 3.5 times more acres burned with 10% less starts… and it’s only July 1st. Remember, last year was the slowest fire season in almost 30 years.
Also, we are behind the 2022 year-to-date acres burned, which was over 3 million acres by this point, with only 15,000 starts. That was due to multiple 100,000+ acre fires in the southwest. We are not seeing that size of fires in the Southwest this year, but the fires that have started have been very destructive.
To put all those numbers into a wider perspective, the 10-year average of acres burned by July 1st across the country is 1.8 million acres and 27,000 fires. So, zooming out, 2024 is above-average acres burned and below-average fire starts. And the outlook in July looks to be heating up.
What does this mean moving forward?
This means we are trending to have a very busy July, August, and September. One reason the number of acres burned has increased is that desert fuels are burning readily, and grass crops are massive, something others and I said was coming. More rain does not always equal less fire, especially if that rain comes in late winter and spring.
Alaska has been active, unlike last year. Although the state has already burned 304,000 acres, considering its size and scale, it’s just a drop in the bucket. The McDonald Fire has burned more than 122,000 acres, and the new Grapefruit Complex is already over 41,000 acres.
Alaska’s wildfire outlook remains high.
Places like Nevada, Utah, and Southern Idaho are entering their desert fire season. Grasses are plentiful, and we are already seeing these types of fires rip 15,000+ acres for a few days and then go out. This is typical of a busy fire season in those states. It will likely only increase as we push into July.
Monsoonal weather made its way into the Southwest this last week, with flooding devastating previously fire-ravaged areas like Ruidoso and Las Vegas, New Mexico. The National Guard and fire resources were conducting flood rescues yesterday in those areas.
California’s burned acres are well above last year’s numbers, and the outlook shows that this trend will continue. Folks in the Pacific Northwest are seeing fires getting bigger as we push into July, and there is potential for large fire growth. Fires in Eastern Oregon have pushed 18,000 acres like the Little Valley Fire on the Vale District. (seen below)
Montana has been strange. Last week, it snowed in the mountains, but places like Billings saw surprisingly aggressive fire activity. Northern Idaho had a few small lightning starts, but nothing big has popped yet.
July could change all of this. Usually, around the 4th of July, we see a major increase in activity.
Stay heads up because it’s actually just beginning.
If you happen to still be sitting or are on R&R and want to stretch those lungs a bit, here is a Monday morning workout for you all.
Get yourself a good soundtrack or podcast.
Warm up, stretch, and let’s do it.
Round 1: Three times
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