This year’s long wildfire season is putting a strain on resources at a time when things are typically winding down.
The national fire preparedness level – or PL – system is a 1 to 5 scale that takes into account fire activity, potential for new incidents and resource availability. At a 5, “national resources are heavily committed, and additional measures are taken to support geographic areas.
Active geographic areas must take emergency measures to sustain incident operations,” according to the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise.
A 10-day streak at PL 5 ended on Oct. 18, when the PL dropped to 4. This week it dropped to 3. Since 1990, there has been only one other instance of PL 5 being reached this month: Oct. 1, 2020.
“It's pretty unprecedented,” said Aaron Groth, a regional fire specialist with Oregon State University’s Extension Service.
He chalked the streak up to several things: High fire potential, significant active wildfires and drought conditions across a broad swath of the country. There’s also the trend of climate change lengthening fire seasons, as well as several serious hurricanes this fall that have drawn in incident management teams.
The active late season has a number of consequences. Prescribed fires can be difficult to conduct when resources are scarce, and they’re an important tool for lowering future wildfire risk. Groth said the extended season also puts further strain on crews already exhausted from a punishing season.
“Those are people with families … [who] need rest and relaxation in order to be able to do their jobs in the long term,” he added.
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, KUNC in Colorado and KANW in New Mexico, with support from affiliate stations across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
