Wildfire Season is Now

Sunny, warm weather is a boon to everyone who enjoys the great outdoors, but it also increases the chances of our ever present summer peril - wildfires. Despite a wet June and moderate temperatures, fire danger conditions are developing quickly in the Reno / Tahoe region. Once the rains stop, it's quite amazing how fast things dry out. According to local weather guy Mike Alger, last Tuesday the relative humidity a few hundred feet up was 2%. It can't get much dryer than that. Such dry air literally sucks the water out of the ground, creating a whole region of wildfires just waiting to happen.

Many fires are started by lightning strikes from thunderstorms, which we can't do anything about. We can, however, avoid doing stupid stuff like grinding metal in a bunch of dry vegetation or building illegal campfires in hazardous areas. Both of these activities sparked disastrous wildfires that destroyed beautiful forests and hundreds of homes (Hawken Fire near Reno and Angora Fire at Lake Tahoe).

The best defense is an active offense. My Reno / Tahoe Wildfire Safety article has good information about preventing fires and what to do if a wildfire is threatening your area.

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