Beyoncé's career in 📷 Solar eclipse guide 😎 Previous US disasters Play to win 🏀
WEATHER
National Interagency Fire Center

West braces for rough wildfire season, central U.S. in good shape

Doyle Rice
USA TODAY
Firefighters battle a wildfire in The Mojave Narrows Regional Park in Victorville Calif., Tuesday, March 31, 2015.

Wildfire activity should be above normal in parts of the West this summer, according to a forecast Monday by the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho.

In June, fire danger is highest in northern California's Sacramento Valley, because of dry winds from the north that would help fan the fires, the center said. Southern Arizona is also at risk this month.

Not surprisingly, the sodden central and southern Plains aren't likely to see much danger from wildfires this month, the fire center's Ed Delgado said. Many spots in Oklahoma and Texas saw their wettest May on record. And fire activity there should be curtailed most of the summer, he added.

The fire season should be delayed until later in the summer in much of the interior West, the Great Basin and the Rockies because of some late-season snow and rain, Delgado said.

In July and August, concern for fires shifts to the Pacific Northwest, mainly Oregon, Washington and Idaho, because of "unusually low" snowpack, the fire center said.

Central and southern California, especially near the coast, will be at risk for wildfires throughout July, August and September.

So far this year, more than 21,000 fires have charred almost 400,000 acres nationwide — figures that are both below average, according to the fire center.

An exception is drought-plagued California, where firefighters have responded to hundreds more fires than usual this year, said Daniel Berlant, a spokesman with CalFire, the state firefighting agency.

He cautioned that drought doesn't necessarily mean more wildfires. But it does mean dry conditions make it easier for people to start fires, whether by accident or on purpose. He said 95% of California wildfires are caused by humans, so prevention is key.

The national wildfire forecast for June. Areas in red are most at risk.
The national wildfire forecast for July.
The national wildfire forecast for August and September.
Featured Weekly Ad