Western wildfire threat to continue through Independence Day

By Faith Eherts, AccuWeather meteorologist

June 29,2017, 2:21:10PM,EDT

 

 With several devastating fires already raging in the western United States, hot and dry weather will only exacerbate wildfire danger through the weekend.

Many areas in the Southwest haven’t received any rainfall yet this month, including Phoenix, Fresno, California, and Cedar City, in southwestern Utah.
However, for many of these locations, a lack of rainfall isn’t rare for this time of year. What is rare is the frequent bouts of gusty winds and the recent long-lasting and deadly heat wave.
Unfortunately, little relief is in sight.
“Warm, dry weather will continue over a large part of the Southwest into the weekend. In addition, winds will become gusty each afternoon,” said AccuWeather Meteorologist Ryan Adamson.

These conditions are prime for fanning a spark or small fire into a large-scale inferno.
“Residents and visitors need to be mindful of these dry conditions by taking precautions such as avoiding discarding of cigarettes out car windows and making sure that any campfires are completely extinguished before leaving the site,” Adamson advised.
Across California, the drought-busting rainfall from this past winter could prove disastrous now that wildfire season is underway.
The abundance of rainfall lead to a dramatic boom in foliage, which has begun to dry out in the hot sunshine and is potential fuel for any wildfire.
A 21,000-acre wildfire has prompted a state of emergency to be declared in parts of Arizona, where several hundred firefighters are struggling to contain the fire in the windy conditions. As of Wednesday, the Goodwin Fire was only 1 percent contained and thousands of residents had been evacuated.
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Brush fires near Los Angeles have burned dangerously close to homes, including one in Burbank which prompted evacuations. Those evacuations have since been lifted, according to the Los Angeles Times. The Cristianitos Fire at Camp Pendleton grew to 700 acres by Thursday, according to the Orange County Fire Authority.
Firefighters are battling blazes up and down the West Coast, with little help from Mother Nature in sight.
“While some thunderstorms may be possible in areas of the Rockies and points eastward, most of the moisture will miss out on areas currently battling wildfires,” said Adamson.
The storms near the Rockies may mark the beginning of the monsoon in the region but it may take many days until moisture trickles westward.
“The only relief Mother Nature will offer for most locations of the West will be at night when winds diminish and the relative humidity rises slightly.”