Produced by the National Drought Mitigation Cetner, U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Drought Monitor showed western Nevada back in abnormally dry conditions as of July 30.
As July turned to August, Carson City residents experienced smoke from the massive Park Fire burning in Northern California — hazy skies that gave way to thunderstorms over the weekend but little rain. The National Weather Service forecast Monday showed dry weather and mid-90s for the next week, extending an already dry summer, and the Carson City Fire Department took note of the precarious conditions.
“Our past two winters were very wet from a precipitation point of view. The result of the wet winters is taller and more abundant cheatgrass and other light, flashy fuels. Combined with a hot summer, typical winds, and not a lot of moisture, that vegetation has dried out. That dry vegetation will ignite very quickly and contribute to rapid fire spread,” said Carson City Fire Chief Sean Slamon. “Because of the dry vegetation, August and September will be a big concern from a fire perspective.”
According to Mark Deutschendorf, meteorologist with the NWS in Reno, the Carson City Airport received .04 inches of rain on Saturday from thunderstorms. The seven-day total at the site was .08 inches of precipitation as of Monday, and the 30-day total was .1 inch of precipitation.
“In the typical summer, we can go through stretches of no rain,” Deutschendorf said. “That’s not entirely unusual.”
Deutschendorf said summer storms have a large degree of variation in a very short distance.
“It’s not like winter when you get the full Pacific weather system and a good push of moisture that gets everyone wet,” he said. “A few miles away (from a summer storm), you might just get wind and a few sprinkles.”
Deutschendorf noted for the water year, which began Oct. 1, the region is falling behind in average precipitation. Reno had a total of 6.37 inches of precipitation for the water year as of Monday, compared to an average of 6.95 inches for this time of year, according to the meteorologist.
Additionally in July, western Nevada fell back into the abnormally dry category of the U.S. Drought Monitor, Deutschendorf pointed out. And chances of precipitation didn’t look good in his immediate forecast.
“For the upcoming week, we don’t have any meaningful chances of rains between today and this coming weekend,” Deutschendorf said. “After that, in general, it’s not a very wet setup coming.”
But as Northern Nevadans know, weather in the region can change quickly
“We can flip to a wetter and somewhat cooler pattern rather quickly if we have the right type of storm setup,” Deutschendorf said.
Slamon reminded residents that “fire prevention is everyone’s responsibility.”
“We recommend removing hazardous brush and fuels from your yard/property,” he said. “From a Carson City Fire Department perspective, we have five full time wildland firefighters that focus on reducing wildland fuels in our city. Other programs that we provide to help our citizens reduce the threat of wildfire include defensible space inspections where we will come out to your house and give you recommendations and tips on how to help make your home safer from the threat of wildfires.
“We also have a dumpster and trailer program through a grant that we will deliver a dumpster to your house for you to remove hazardous vegetation for no charge.”
More information: https://www.carson.org/government/departments-a-f/fire-department or https://www.livingwithfire.org/.