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Written by Administrator
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Tuesday, 22 May 2007 |
Have you been watching the National news the past couple of weeks? All across the country, from Florida, to Northern Minnesota, Arizona and California, wildfire season is already here...
Have you been watching the National news the past couple of weeks? All across the country, from Florida, to Northern Minnesota, Arizona and California, wildfire season is already here. In most states the official wildfire season doesn't start until the middle of June. But due to drought conditions, unseasonal temperatures, and higher than normal wind velocity, wildfire season is here earlier this year. According to the NOAA web site (http://lwf.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/research/drought/drought.html), parts of Western South Dakota need between 9 and 12 inches of precipitation to end their current drought condition. This makes the likelihood that many communities in West River will again need the help of wild land firefighters form our area.
Despite the political baggage that has been tied to the topic of Global Warming, the fact is that our climate has noticeably changed over the past 10 years. Areas like the North Woods/Boundary Waters region of Northern Minnesota are now in a severe drought condition. The last severe droughts experienced in that area was 1974 and 1976. And closer to home, Western South Dakota has been in drought conditions for the last 10+ years.
There's no doubt that the need for firefighters is only going to increase in the coming years.No one has commented on this article. |
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Last Updated ( Monday, 01 October 2007 )
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