Idaho’s wildfire seasons
The exodus…to Idaho.
September 13, 2020
“For the first time in a decade, more people left California last year for other states than arrived.”
AXIOS
- Climate scientist Zeke Hausfather said: “People who have lived in California for 30, 40 years are saying this is unprecedented, it has never been this hot, it has never been this smoky.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), on Friday: “California, folks, is America — fast forward.” (ABC’s “This Week”)
San Francisco this past week.
[Photo: Nick Otto for The Washington Post, via Getty Images]
Boise/Idaho Statesman:
‘A line formed last Saturday outside a newly listed home for sale in Meridian—they had people lined up in the streets and in their cars all day. I was told by a neighbor that the house went under contract with four full-cash offers the same day.
The asking price: $540,000.
https://www.idahostatesman.com/news/business/article245659170.html
“Idaho dodged a bullet this year,” one climatologist said. “It’s hard to not expect that Idaho’s time will come soon.” Idaho is up there with California as the state in the lower 48 that has the most fire in general.”
Whether Idaho wildfires will prove to be as destructive and fatal as those in neighboring states remains to be seen, but experts say they’ll almost certainly burn more of our state than they have in years past.
Part of Idaho’s exploding wildfire problem is that we got a little too good at putting fires out. That created an excess of fuel, even in places like Idaho’s forests, which are less inclined to burn than the Great Basin that stretches into Southern Idaho.
“The warming and drying climate is basically exposing that legacy of fire suppression,” Abatzoglou said. “We often talk about these forests having a deficit of fire, and the warming and drying climate is making us pay that debt back.”
More:
https://www.idahostatesman.com/news/local/environment/fires/article245634450.html
Washington Post
Dense smoke smothers Pacific Northwest, shutting residents indoors and complicating fire response
‘Officials and health experts urged residents to stay indoors unless absolutely necessary, keep doors and windows closed, and use fans and air conditioners to keep air circulating in their homes.’