August 30, 2015That is today. The fires are still burning. The drought persists. This is the result of our indulgence of oil and gas as our energy sources.
A significant (click here) upper-level trough over the central part of the contiguous U.S., accompanied by a slowly moving cold front, brought up to several inches of rain across the eastern and southern states during the past week. The cold front reached the Eastern Seaboard and continued out over the western Atlantic, while the southern portion of this front stalled across the deep South. Later in the week, another upper-level trough moved out of central Canada across the northern High Plains of the United States, before heading east and bringing additional rainfall to the eastern contiguous U.S. In the Southwest, light to moderate precipitation (generally less than 1.5 inches) was observed in association with the summer monsoon. In the northern Rockies and Pacific Northwest, the USDA Forest Service reported approximately 40 large wildfires in progress as of August 26th, as warm and very dry weather persisted.
The only war the USA can afford is the one within our own borders to end the fires and improve the conditions of the people on the west coast.
FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) --
The Rough Fire is now 25 percent (click here for videos) contained and has burned more than 66,000 acres in the Sierra National Forest.The wildfire has now moved away from homes and is nearing some iconic trees. The cost to fight the Rough Fire is now at $32 million and growing. Just one drop of water or fire retardant from a very large air tanker is about $40,000.
Finance Chief Dennis Stevens said, "We're at probably one of the most expensive parts of the fire. I think as we go on and get more containment, there will be less need for the big expensive days."
Firefighters say they're making progress but the nights are not offering the relief they need to put the fire out anytime soon.
