As we approach the official start of summer the temperatures are already, and with a low snow runoff fire conditions are already high.
AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist, Jonathan Porter, spoke with KMVT about what we can expect this fire season.
He told us that there has not been much rainfall so far this year, which is not out of the ordinary, and they do expect a few more showers this year than last year.
With Idaho seeing a 40-year record of 130 human-caused wildfires last year it’s more important than ever to be careful while enjoying Idaho’s outdoors. “We’re, unfortunately, forecasting that the wildfire season will once again be very impactful, may be very long and many places across the western United States may be impacted,” said Porter. “AccuWeather experts are forecasting that there’s the risk for over 9 million acres to be burned. That’s coming off a record of over 10.2 million acres burned last year, over a multi-state area.”
He said it’s extremely important to be careful around open flames when camping and to make sure they are completely out and cool to the touch before leaving them unattended.