wildfires

New research shows that job growth in our region has been faster in areas with serious wildfire danger, a trend that raises the prospect of serious economic fallout from major blazes.

Drought this spring has increased significantly across our region, with some states already hitting the highest levels.

Nearly every member of the Vedauwoo Volunteer Fire Department resigned over the recent firing of their chief. The area is still being served by another nearby department.

The move comes in the wake of massive Trump administration layoffs at the Department of Health and Human Services, the parent agency of the Centers for Disease Control and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), which runs the program.

Much of southern Arizona and New Mexico are expected to see above average potential for wildfire in April.

The percentage of adults in the West who say they’ve been personally affected by an extreme weather event, including wildfires and high heat, jumped 13% in the last two years.

Wyoming has already seen 103 wildfires and 2,600 acres burned this year. That’s about double the number of fires by this time last year, but only 15% of the acreage burned.

In recent decades, wildfires have gotten larger and more intense, and community-destroying blazes are an increasingly common occurrence. But new research looking at centuries of wildfires shows that compared with fires in the 19th and earlier centuries, today’s blazes pale in comparison – at least in terms of size.

An early outlook from the National Interagency Fire Center anticipates “normal” potential for large wildfires in Wyoming through June. Normal still means fires. A few early-season blazes near Wheatland already caused evacuations in February.

Wildland firefighter advocates are celebrating the permanent pay raises included in a larger funding bill passed by Congress late last week.