Wildfire Season Outlook Pt 3
I’m Bob Larson. If you’re worried about this summer’s wildfire season, don’t. No more than any other year with slightly wetter and cooler conditions headed into the dry season.
University of Washington atmospheric sciences professor, Cliff Mass says our wet May and June gives us a good start …
MASS … “It’s delaying the drying. So, I mean, we’re starting the wildfire season with normal or even greater than normal moisture. That’s very favorable. And then you add to that the fact that the long-range models are not suggesting a dry pattern.”
But, Mass says that doesn’t mean there will be NO wildfires …
MASS … “And so, at this point, I mean, there’s going to be wildfires. No one’s saying there ain’t going to be any wildfires. I mean, there will be wildfires, but there’s no reason, at this point, to suggest that there’s a greater chance than normal of wildfires or to have a particularly severe wildfire season, just no reason to expect it.”
But, Mass says this should be nothing like 2015’s extreme wildfires …
MASS … “So, this is very favorable. So, the chances are we’re not going to have a bad wildfire season. Chances are it won’t be that smoky or anything, so people can relax about this at least.”
As for the farmers and ranchers, Mass says …
MASS … “There’s no reason to think agriculture’s going to be stressed at all by water. You know, the Yakima system is in spectacular shape. And, so, we should have plenty of water for our agricultural needs. So, I mean, those are all favorable things.”
Mass says current wildfire risk is very low across Washington and there’s no reason to expect that risk to be higher than normal.
