Be Fire Wise During Hot Weather

It is hot and windy to start the week across much of the Northwest.  The National Weather Service has an Extreme Heat Warning in place for western Oregon through Tuesday.  And an Extreme Heat Watch is in place for The Dalles, northern Oregon, central Washington, eastern Washington and northern Idaho; that Watch runs through Wednesday evening.

This is the time of summer when conditions get really dry.  Jean Nelson-Dean, at the Northwest Coordination Center, said the heat over the weekend and this week will make it worse.

"Fuels drying out rapidly with the high heat and low humidities and we expect fuel volatility," Nelson-Dean said.  "So the intensity of those fuels to reach conditions that we haven't seen in the last 20 years in some areas across the region."

To this point, it hasn't been a severe wildfire season, and Nelson-Dean said they want people to remain FireWise.

"Certainly this is a year where people may let their guard down, they're not seeing the smoke in the air maybe as much as they have, but you know what we say is human caused starts are always preventable and we want people to prevent them." 

Nelson-Dean said check the fire restrictions in your area.  If you're towing a trailer, keep the chains off the ground.  When you park, don't stop in tall grass, because a hot muffler can start a fire.

If you have a story idea for the PNW Ag Network, call (509) 547-1618, or e-mail glenn.vaagen@townsquaremedia.com