# 2021 US West drought and wildfire thread **URL:** \ **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:** 1\ **Showing post:** 277
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2021, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2021-us-west-drought-and-wildfire-thread/943991/277 "2021-12-30T02:06:43Z")
Related thread: > [@What do you think will happen when the water level at Lake Mead falls below 1050 feet?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-will-happen-when-the-water-level-at-lake-mead-falls-below-1050-feet/954201): > > Lake Mead sits just outside Las Vegas, created by the construction of the Hoover Dam back in the 1930s. Lake Mead is the largest capacity water reservoir in the US and that water is used, in part, to generate electricity at the dam. Hoover Dam has 17 turbines that generate electricity. 5 of those have been upgraded to newer, more efficient models that can run at lower water levels than the previous/original turbines. The 12 that have not been upgraded cannot function when the water level in … I’m pretty sure this is going to happen no later than May 2022. --- _[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2021-us-west-drought-and-wildfire-thread/943991)._