Weston County area still faces fire danger
Alexis Barker
NLJ News Editor
Fire danger remains a threat in Weston County despite the 2.40 inches of moisture received in July and 1.21 inches to date in August.
Last week, Fire Warden Daniel Tysdal said that the recent moisture alleviates the fire danger for a short period, especially if high temperatures return to the area. He noted that temperatures are predicted to be in the high 80s most of the next two weeks.
“While the rain helps in the short term, we must remember that we are still at the end of a hot, dry summer and our fuels reflect the drought conditions we’ve experienced this year despite the recent moisture,” Tysdal said. “The fuel moisture in our 100- and 1,000-hour fuels are still critically low, and once the weather turns warm, dry and windy again, all of our fuels include the fine flashy 1-hour fuels, (which) will readily burn, and the fire danger can immediately be high and very high categories once again.”
According to the National Centers for Environmental Information, 100-hour fuels are 1 to 3 inches in diameter, while 1000-hour fuels are 3 to 8 inches in diameter. The 100-hour fuels are computed from 24-hour average conditions, composed of day length, hours or rain, and daily temperature/humidity ranges, while the 100-hour fuels are computed on a 7-day average for the same conditions.
Those numbers are used to create the fuel moisture index, a tool widely used to understand the fire potential for locations across the country, which aids in labeling the fire danger.
Because of the potential, and the fact that Weston County’s fire season often continues into fall, Tysdal asks that the public continue to remain cautious and follow the guidelines provided in the open burn restrictions implemented countywide. He noted that the largest fire in 2020 started on Oct. 8.
“Folks should continue to be cautious and call 911 immediately if they see a fire start, so resources can respond right away,” Tysdal said, adding a word of thanks for the volunteer firefighters who work throughout the long fire season.
To date, Weston County has seen a total of 41 natural-caused fires, burning a total of 5,098.69 acres. Human-caused fires add another 10 fires to the total, burning 19.94 acres.