Experts Prepare for Wildfire Season as Droughts Reported in Western United States

The western United States is seeing one of the most dangerous and significant droughts in almost a decade. New data shows that four states including California, Oregon, Utah and Nevada are under drought conditions and overall drought is being experienced in 88% of the western U.S. Forecasters are concerned because the continued dry conditions could cause a particularly intense wildfire season. Yesterday, the Storm Prediction Center’s fire weather outlook was classified as ‘critical’ or ‘extreme’ across Wyoming, Utah, Colorado and Arizona. ‘Exceptional drought’ conditions are the most severe category and cover over 26% of the west and nearly a tenth of the U.S. Around half of the country is also in abnormally dry conditions or worse. The Drought Monitor has predicted dry conditions will persist or expand in the west this month.