WASHINGTON â Arizona and other Western states just lived through the driest year in more than a century, with no drought relief in sight in the near future, experts told a House panel Tuesday.
The period from last April to this March was the driest in the last 126 years for Arizona and other Western states, witnesses said. It caps a two-decade stretch that was the driest in more than 100 years that records have been kept â and one of the driest in the past 1,200 years based on paleohydrology evidence, one official said.
âWe have never seen drought at the scale and intensity that we see right now, and it is possible that this may be the baseline for the future,â Elizabeth Klein, a senior counselor to the secretary of Interior, said in her testimony.
Staff Report
NORTH PORT – The city of North Port instituted a ban on outdoor burning, effective Wednesday May 26, because of current extreme dry weather conditions, which have prompted North Port Fire Chief Scott Titus to determine that an extraordinary fire hazard now exists.
According to a news release from the city of North Port, The National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) indicates that the area is 3.49 inches short of average rainfall for the 2021 calendar year.
Within the city of North Port, the Drought Index that measures moisture in the vegetation is up to 632 on the Keetch Byram Drought Index scale of 0-800.
Advertisement: “It’s important to understand this is not a crisis but a drought that is expected when you live in the desert,” said SRP spokesperson Patty Garcia-Likens. “Salt River Project, Arizona cities and Central Arizona Project have planned for times like this.” Charlie Ester, SRP’s manager of watershed management, said that from the agency’s perspective, Arizona has been in drought conditions since 1995. “One of the things that we do at SRP is we always plan for drought conditions,” Ester said. “That sounds very simple, but it was not always the case.” Ester said areas of the state that are not served by SRP or CAP could be hit hardest.
Arizona and other Western states just lived through the driest year in more than a century, with no drought relief in sight in the near future, experts told a House panel Tuesday.
KCBX s Sydney Brandt reports.
From May through late October, it’s typically all hands on deck for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire). However, wildfires can take place regardless of the calendar.
According to the National Integrated Drought Information System, 97.5% of the State of California is in a drought, which Cal Fire San Luis Obispo Spokesperson Adan Orozco said could mean a potential for a heightened season.
“Every year is kind of up in the air, but there are factors that contribute into the potential for having a destructive fire season and all those things are lining up for us right now,” Orozco said.