Page 20 - Fire Activity News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Actually the weather and some odd things about the weather have created some issues. the temperatures didn't get as cool as it had been so it allowed the fire activity to spread a little earlier. the temperatures do help with that and yesterday morning that wasn't the case. it's making it a little difficult to predict. in that regard here's why. the smoke column is building up, breaking down and collapses on itself and then sending downdrafts and wind gusts in different directions. that's made it a little more difficult. this fire is burning through at 2,000 degrees. here a look at where we st...

Out area and, of course, the smoke. the winds in the fire area have been dying down just a bit but the conditions overall are still feeding the flames, as you heard nick mention there. alexandra steel is in the severe weather center and she explains. >> hi, fred. i mean, the weather is just not cooperating on myriad fronts. temperatures, rain, and wind. so in terms of the temperatures, you know, the temperatures in the morning haven't gotten as low or as cool as they have been earlier in the week. so the fire activity has picked up earlier in the day. also, this fire is really krooe eighting i...

Is key as fire crews on the rs.und radio the water dropping >> we have a bunch -- we would look you to kill. >> reporter: and the pilots make precise drop time and time again. now for the first time since 2008, the national preparedness level has been raised t the highest level, five. thanks to the intense fire activity in idaho, utah, montana, california, and oregon. widespread lightning sparked several fires including this blaze in the sequoia national forest. >> right now -- it's anybody's guess which way it will go. >> reporter: here, firefighters say they're stretched to their limits with...

We have been talking to local leaders and they said how much the concern for the season is given the precedent we have had starting this week. >> concern for firefighters across the state. if the numbers we are seeing this early and how active they are, the type of fires we see is what we normally see in late august, not the first week of august. >> is that because of a dry winter? >> several reasons for this much fire activity. a lot of dead and dying vegetation throughout the state of california. we have not had a wet winter in some areas and there are a varietyies reasons for the cause all ...

That are leading to these wildfires and how would you compare that to years past? are you in an at-risk situation for more of this to develop as the days go on? >> that is the key this year, the vegetation conditions are in a place where we would normally be in june. we started seeing fire activity, significant fire activity towards the middle to end of april. and vegetation is at critically dry levels. all we need is potential for fire starts to drive this. remember, we're only on the third day of may, as we work our way through the heat of the summer, the vegetation is only going to be drier...