# 2021 US West drought and wildfire thread
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2021-us-west-drought-and-wildfire-thread/943991
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [June 10, 2021, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2021-us-west-drought-and-wildfire-thread/943991 "2021-06-10T18:17:30Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 3
### Author:  [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)
#### Post date: [June 15, 2021, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2021-us-west-drought-and-wildfire-thread/943991/41 "2021-06-15T20:41:30Z")
> [@TroutMan](#):
>
> “Short-term” means over the next six months. Crop failure in 2021 would be considered a short term effect, although we’d think of that as pretty severe. Long term would be things like an aquifer being drained. Short term certainly doesn’t suggest the drought can be ameliorating by heavy rainfall for a day.
Thank you for the clarification!
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### Author:  [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)
#### Post date: [June 15, 2021, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2021-us-west-drought-and-wildfire-thread/943991/42 "2021-06-15T21:55:18Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#):
>
> > [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#):
> >
> > Truckee in California
>
> Ouch man. I know Las Vegans pretend the rest of the state doesn’t exist but come on.
I fairness to Bo, the Truckee **River** , which is what he was discussing, starts in California. And if you’re talking about the river flow, it makes sense to refer to the source.
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### Author:  [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)
#### Post date: [June 15, 2021, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2021-us-west-drought-and-wildfire-thread/943991/43 "2021-06-15T22:06:19Z")
On a lake that’s not solely in CA though.
Good trout fishing regardless.
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### Author:  [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)
#### Post date: [June 15, 2021, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2021-us-west-drought-and-wildfire-thread/943991/44 "2021-06-15T22:12:27Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#):
>
> Good trout fishing regardless.
Geez, no need to make it personal.
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### Author:  [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)
#### Post date: [June 15, 2021, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2021-us-west-drought-and-wildfire-thread/943991/45 "2021-06-15T22:14:20Z")
Heh, some of the “trout” are actually char, if you want to make fun of your doofy cousins.
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### Author:  [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)
#### Post date: [June 16, 2021, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2021-us-west-drought-and-wildfire-thread/943991/46 "2021-06-16T14:21:24Z")
It seems that every day, my local paper has yet another story about record heat, drought, and wildfire in the west. Here is the latest round:
> **[U.S. West swelters in record-busting heat, risking wildfires](https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2021/jun/15/us-west-swelters-in-record-busting-heat-risking-wi/)**
>
> PHOENIX – Dangerous, record-busting heat spread across the U.S. Southwest on Tuesday and into parts of Utah, Montana and Wyoming as a dome of high pressure hovered over a large swath of the region, pushing temperatures into the triple digits this...
We just purchased a backup generator that will run our fridge and chest freezer. They say our area should be fairly well safe from the predicted power outages in the west this year, but I don’t want to risk it.
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### Author:  [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)
#### Post date: [June 16, 2021, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2021-us-west-drought-and-wildfire-thread/943991/47 "2021-06-16T18:58:10Z")
Idaho farmers are losing their water:
> **[Idaho's ongoing drought halts some irrigation months early](https://apnews.com/article/idaho-droughts-environment-and-nature-business-51b1f93c36583881349931bd3dec25e9)**
>
> IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (AP) — Water managers are cutting off irrigation flows to farmers in Idaho’s Wood River basin and wildlife officials are scrambling to move fish to safer waters as a severe drought grips the area.
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### Author:  [@JaneDoe42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneDoe42)
#### Post date: [June 16, 2021, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2021-us-west-drought-and-wildfire-thread/943991/48 "2021-06-16T22:09:48Z")
The Telegraph fire jumped Mescal’s burn line to join up with it. 150,000 acres for that fire alone, we have five other smaller fires burning as well.
I’m afraid I’m never going to see the stars again ☹
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### Author:  [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)
#### Post date: [June 17, 2021, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2021-us-west-drought-and-wildfire-thread/943991/49 "2021-06-17T05:13:39Z")
The AP has a good rundown on current situations throughout the US West:
> **[Heat wave grips US West amid fear of a new, hotter normal](https://apnews.com/article/co-state-wire-heat-waves-science-environment-and-nature-b751329e85003afb2ef314a8321748ea)**
>
> PHOENIX (AP) — An unusually early and long-lasting heat wave brought more triple-digit temperatures Wednesday to a large swath of the U.S. West, raising concerns that such extreme weather could become the new normal amid a decades-long drought.
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### Author:  [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)
#### Post date: [June 17, 2021, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2021-us-west-drought-and-wildfire-thread/943991/50 "2021-06-17T13:17:22Z")
Here’s more on Lake Mead:
> **[The shocking numbers behind the Lake Mead drought crisis | CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/17/us/lake-mead-drought-water-shortage-climate/index.html)**
>
> The Lake Mead reservoir is poised to become the focal point of one of the country's most significant climate crises: water shortages in the West.
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### Author:  [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)
#### Post date: [June 17, 2021, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2021-us-west-drought-and-wildfire-thread/943991/51 "2021-06-17T15:10:04Z")
Out of curiosity - what is the average daily residential potable water consumption of the Dopers who live out West?
Here, we’re a couple years out from our last big drought and we’re still on less than 70_l_ (18.5 gal) in my house, usually ~50_l_-60_l_.
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### Author:  [@teelabrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teelabrown)
#### Post date: [June 17, 2021, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2021-us-west-drought-and-wildfire-thread/943991/52 "2021-06-17T19:30:31Z")
I ordered a well-rated air purifier and it should arrive today or tomorrow. I well remember the choking smoke last year and especially the year before that from the huge Paradise fire. It’s bad enough for me, but Mr. brown has allergies and sinus problems, so I’m hoping this will give him some relief.
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### Author:  [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)
#### Post date: [June 17, 2021, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2021-us-west-drought-and-wildfire-thread/943991/53 "2021-06-17T19:41:26Z")
Last year when my house was unbearable due to the smoke I used the MERV 8 or 10 filter on a box fan trick and it worked amazingly well. And very fast. I even used that fan/filter for some drywall mud sanding and again it was great. I should probably buy a new filter to prepare for the inevitable smoke season.
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### Author:  [@teelabrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teelabrown)
#### Post date: [June 17, 2021, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2021-us-west-drought-and-wildfire-thread/943991/54 "2021-06-17T19:53:20Z")
Good point. We should lay in a couple of extra filters before there’s a run on them later on. Mr. brown also found a few of those painter masks that filter air going in, but have a valve for when you exhale. They weren’t good for COVID, but they should be good for smoke.
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### Author:  [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)
#### Post date: [June 17, 2021, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2021-us-west-drought-and-wildfire-thread/943991/55 "2021-06-17T23:53:22Z")
Here’s a 1 minute video update on the Telegraph, Pinnacle and Backbone Fires in Arizona as well as a quick note on what the Arizona legislature are doing:
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DD3X1TQoN1g)
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### Author:  [@JaneDoe42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneDoe42)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2021, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2021-us-west-drought-and-wildfire-thread/943991/56 "2021-06-18T05:44:18Z")
Money is nice, but if there was enough rain fire suppression and prevention measures wouldn’t be needed. We can’t buy rain.
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### Author:  [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2021, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2021-us-west-drought-and-wildfire-thread/943991/57 "2021-06-18T14:11:43Z")
> [@JaneDoe42](#):
>
> We can’t buy rain.
People try: it’s called cloud seeding:
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JIOZxTVpzs)
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### Author:  [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2021, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2021-us-west-drought-and-wildfire-thread/943991/58 "2021-06-18T14:11:55Z")
> [@MrDibble](#):
>
> Here, we’re a couple years out from our last big drought and we’re still on less than 70 _l_ (18.5 gal) in my house, usually ~50 _l_ -60 _l_ .
For our family of 4 we probably use ~60 gallons per day. The average here is about 80 with 50% being used outdoors. We don’t have any outdoor uses but our kids take a lot of baths.
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### Author:  [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2021, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2021-us-west-drought-and-wildfire-thread/943991/59 "2021-06-18T14:20:49Z")
Lake Mendocino:
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6Y30FulppY)
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### Author:  [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2021, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2021-us-west-drought-and-wildfire-thread/943991/60 "2021-06-18T18:16:46Z")
I would like to remind all that this is just normal climate cycles. Sit back and enjoy the warmer weather (if you live in Canada) until it cycles back down.
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