Spring warm temperatures unusually contributed to rapid discounts in snowy rings throughout the West, which competes with the fastest prices ever, which increased concerns about the forest fire season.
Rapid snow melting, in addition to the low employee restrictions and budgets that you started Trump administrationHe has spent the road for a particularly dangerous season throughout the West, according to the analysis of the data available to the public by the Guardian and interviews with experts in the region.
The national weather service has issued warnings from floods throughout the southwest this week, as warm weather took the rains in the upper highlands of the usual, which increases the surface flow. In many lower decline sites within the Miyah of the Colorado River, the mountainous terrain has already been free of snow-the oldest full melting of snow ever.
“Such fast melting rates are not normal,” according to Special update By the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) last month.
All western states now have lower snow factors, including California, as snowfall for this season has been higher than average. About a third of the west of the United States is now in “extreme” dehydration or worse, the highest percentage in more than two years.
This summer Municipal washing forecasts It calls for the continuation of hot and dry weather, especially in the northwest of the Pacific Ocean. Experts are now afraid that the mountain snow that ran quickly reduces the availability of summer water in the tables and rivers throughout the West, and the potential feedback ring that can intensify and expand the current drought may begin.
In addition to the disastrous environmental conditions, federal firefighting crews are timed due to accelerated retirement and employee cuts throughout The power to combat unified firefighting in the country in the country.
Training outside the season was disabled due to the freezing of comprehensive spending by Donald Trump and Eileon Musk, “Government Efficiency Management”. Some of the crews have been reported about the restrictions even on the basic necessities of their season, Like the inability to buy fuel for leaflets during training exercises Because the DOGE purchase limits are set to $ 1.
The low -recovery country means that firefighters and support teams are called Accident management teamsIt can be overwhelmed quickly.
“The thing that made me really concern is that I do not think we have enough teams to manage accidents to deal with all the big fires that will appear this year,” said Jim Whitentton, federal public affairs official.
Accident Management Teams – which include skilled support staff such as meteorologists, Karbario and supply chain experts – are deployed in a short notice whenever a long and complex battle appears. Wittengton and his colleagues estimate that the discounts reached by the Trump administration means that federal agencies will be able to provide about 15-20 % of accident management teams this summer, even amid a major fire threat.
At the regional level, Washington cut off the spending to prevent wild fires in half Amid the state budget crisis, which raises public safety anxiety this summer. Origon state officials A press conference held last week Saying that the discounts in the Environmental Protection Agency, the American forest service and national weather service employees will leave their mandate less ready for fires this year.
Given that the firefighting season Really record In Canada’s wilderness provinces, Wittington also expects Limited support from international partnersEnhance the burden for us, firefighters.
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“This may be the first year of memory, where we have Canada and the United States excessive capabilities at the same time, and therefore I do not expect that there will be a lot of help from the north,” Witigon said. “This will create some cumulative fatigue problems and we go to late summer.”
The national weather service itself is also Dealing with its employment restrictionsWith the expected offices in Sacramento and Hanford, California, Reducing services around the clock recently. Some meteorologists receive special training to be able to predict weather conditions around forest fires, and accident management teams are loaned as needed. Looking at the employees ’restrictions for this year, they may need to stay in their household offices.
The Trump Administration Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is undergoing a comprehensive review.
The emergence of rapid summer -like conditions is one of the symptoms of the climate crisis, and It was happening frequently in the western United States in recent years.
There are more than a million homes on the front of the urban lands in Washington State-as is the case in southern California- The number grows quickly.
“There is a good opportunity because the wild fire extinguishing service will not be able to meet the expectations that we have created in the past,” Witigon said. “I know they will pave the donkey to try.”
“I think everyone who lives in Fire Country needs a really good plan this year and has some emergency cases of these plans because you can never know when you will be in intensity, and there may not be the resources there that expect to be there.”
