A whole lot of smart people who know a lot about the climate disagree with you. This is not normal. I have lived in the same 15 mile area for over 30 years. It gets hot earlier and stays hot longer.
Century old plants that evolved to adapt to heat and small amounts of water are dying because they can’t handle the new conditions.
I should’ve made my sarcasm explicit. I assumed that my former posts made it clear this is serious and I’m not a climate change denialist. Yes, this situation sucks and it’s going to get worse because “we” are dragging our heals on the needed change.
I’m sorry, that was a knee-jerk reaction because there are so many deniers around my neck of the woods. We are losing a 30 foot fir and a smaller decorative tree. I’ve got a long pole thing that I can put in the ground so I can attach a hose and get water towards their roots, but I’m afraid that’s not going to be enough.
I’m surrounded by them too. I live in a very “red” region. Every winter I hear countless “sure could get some of that good ole’ global warming about now…HAWHAWHAW!” jokes. I mean “jokes”.
I am so sorry.
Most of the small amount of precipitation we got last year was in the form of a once in ten year snowfall, which just “proved” that global warming is a hoax.
Update on Hwy closure due to Backbone fire. PHOENIX – State routes 260 and 87 have portions closed due to the ongoing Backbone Fire, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation. State Route 260 is closed in both directions between Camp Verde at milepost 227 and State Route 87 at milepost 252. State Route 87 is closed in both directions between Houston Mesa Road in Payson at milepost 255 and Lake Mary Road at milepost 290. Motorists are advised to expect delays and seek an alternate route. There is no estimated time to reopen the highway.
Evacuations have started in Pine and Strawberry. This is heart breaking.
Evacuations from Enterprise, Utah too (2:30 video)
Any news about the Backbone AZ fire today? All the articles I can find were written before yesterday morning.
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Note the yesterday evening update:
"The Backbone Fire, which remained 0% contained and had burned 17,126 acres, caused more closures to public lands, according to a statement from the U.S. Forest Service.
Closures were announced Sunday morning for all Tonto, Coconino and Prescott National Forest lands, roads, and trails, the statement explained."
"Concerns over afternoon and evening thunderstorms remained. The storms could cause the fire to move due to high winds, the statement explained.
State Route 260 between Camp Verde and State Route 87 and S.R. 87 north of Payson to Clint’s Week were still closed as of Sunday. Evacuation orders remained for residents of Pine, Strawberry, and Hunts Ranch, according to the statement. "
Nicasio Reservoir puddle, the largest reservoir in Marin County, CA, was nearly empty on May 31, and I suppose is even nearly emptier now. Article with photo:
Entire S. F. Bay Area declares water shortage emergency – above article seems to focus on Santa Clara County. Gov. Newsom declares draught emergency in 41 of the 58 CA counties.
We live close to the I17 and H69 junction. The Arcosanti is less than 15 minutes away on very bad roads.
I can see smoke from two fires from our north facing back porch. I’m fairly certain one is the Backbone fire, I think the other smoke I’m seeing is from the 4 smaller lightning strike fires in and around Prescott Valley and Dewey. (No rain, just lightning, high winds and fire.)
Looking south, there is a thick brown haze that is quite unlike the gray haze that usually covers the sky over the Valley. The wind is blowing to the east and only the sky in the west is semi-clear. (I think I can see a real cloud, but that might be my dreams/hopes clouding my eyes.)
I drove by it in mid-May on my way to Pt. Reyes and I was honestly shocked. I’ve been driving that route to the point for decades and I’ve seen it pretty low during previous drought years, but never quite like this.
Crews are battling a fire near El Dorado Hills Boulevard and Park Drive north of Highway 50 near Sacramento; this 13 minute KRCA news video was just live-streamed (there’s no audio, just a video stream).
The S-503 Fire has burned more than 5,000 acres SE of Mt. Hood (in Oregon) and is 0% contained.
I think this is what I was seeing earlier. Four fires in Chino’s forests.
UPDATE, 1:05 p.m. Sunday:
Firefighters - including two hotshot crews, one type-3 engine, and one type-6 engine - are battling four different fires on the Prescott National Forest’s Chino Valley Ranger District east of Highway 89,
The fires include the Rafael, at 400 acres; Sandflat, 3 acres; Archibald, 1 acre; and the Hornet, 1 acre.
These started Thursday, June 17, and about 24 hours ago the Rafael was only 9 acres. Other changes are the Sandflat, down from 5 acres; Archibald, down from 3 acres; and the Hornet, still at 1 acre, according to news releases from Debbie Maneely of the Prescott National Forest.
These are lightning-caused fires burning in pinyon juniper and grass."
We all really wish the clouds had also dropped some rain, but alas, it wasn’t to be.
I live pretty far up north on the ID/WA border. We don’t tend to get extreme heat and often/normally don’t hit 100 in a year. We typically have a couple “hot” weeks in the 90s during August. It’s June and the 10 day forecast is all 88+ with 5 of those days in the 98-101 range. This is June.
Well the good news is the days get shorter from here on out for awhile.
I see you are a glass-half full kinda guy.
That’s not good enough news. It’s still going to keep getting hotter for a few more weeks – like well into August at least.