The National Interagency Fire Center predicts wildfire potential will be higher than normal in northwest Nevada, southwest New Mexico, and across most of Idaho, according to the latest monthly outlook.
By mid to late August, parts of eastern Nevada and northern Utah also could see above-average fire activity. Meanwhile, the forecasts for Colorado and Wyoming are normal.
Maureen Kennedy, a wildfire researcher at the University of Washington, Tacoma, said sections of the West with higher fire potential share similar weather forecasts.
“They’re expecting below average precipitation and above average temperatures,” Kennedy said. “And it’s really as simple as that. If you’re gonna get within the summer hotter and drier conditions, that just makes it easier for fires to start, and it makes it easier for them to spread.”
Kennedy said climate change, which is primarily caused by burning fossil fuels, could also cause the West’s wildfire seasons to last longer than usual – this year and in years to come.
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