Heat Wave and Dry Conditions Translate to an Early Start to the 2021 Wildfire Season

Posted: June 25, 2021 1:34 pm

The ongoing drought is leading to an earlier than usual wildfire season. There are at least 45 wildfires raging across the western US with temperatures expected to soar in the coming days, complicating the problem even further.

Only Washington Spared

As of Thursday, Washington is the only state out west that is not dealing with fires. While lower temperatures and higher levels of humidity have helped to suppress some of the activity over the last week, this break is not expected to last long. The Pacific Northwest is on the brink of a record heatwave beginning this weekend. This heat combined with the dry conditions will only serve to raise the risk of fire danger in the coming days.

Arizona Fires

As the nation’s hot spot over the last month, it is no surprise to learn that Arizona is dealing with its fair share of fires. There are over one dozen fires raging in Arizona. Because many of these fires are burning national forests, all but one of the state’s forests are scheduled to close to the public to conserve resources. For example, the Kaibab and Coconino national forests closed earlier this week with the Prescott, Tonto, and Sitgreaves forests scheduled to close in the coming days.

The Rafael Fire is currently burning about 15 miles southwest of Flagstaff in the Coconino forest. This fire is the result of a lightning strike last week. The blaze has already burned almost 40 square miles and is 0% contained.

Prescott National Forest is also under the gun as fire managers are finding it difficult to trigger the resources needed to keep the blazes under control. The Backbone Fire is yet another example of resources being stretched too thin. Located 12 miles west of Strawberry, this fire also started with a lightning strike.

Out in California

The Mira Mesa community of San Diego is dealing with evacuations as a fire grew to nearly two acres on Wednesday. Over near Big Sur, over 500 firefighters were dispatched to the Willow Fire. Fortunately, cool air coming in from the coast helped the crew members to get some of the flames under control. This fire has scorched 4.5 square miles and is 19% contained.

As of Friday morning, there are seven major wildfires burning in the Golden State.

Colorado Fires

There are five major fires currently burning in Colorado with a total of 20 square miles destroyed as a result of the flames. The largest blaze is the Oil Springs Fire, caused by a lightning strike. This fire is burning near the border of Utah with nearly 12 square miles already burned.

The West Fire ignited on Sunday, burning approximately five square miles quickly. The blaze has now spread across the state line into Wyoming.

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