Wildfire Versus Flash Flood Threat across the West
7/21/2009 11:02 AM
By Heather
Buchman
AccuWeather.com
Hot, dry weather across much of
the West this week will continue to support the growth of wildfires, which could threaten more homes, force more evacuations and disrupt travel along
interstates. In areas where dry thunderstorms develop,
lightning will be an added threat
for sparking new fires.
Wildfires have been igniting and raging across the West the last several weeks due to a combination of hot, dry weather,
lightning strikes and human carelessness.
Some of the more recent wildfires in California that started over the past weekend include the Forks Fire in the Inyo National Forest near Bishop and
the Tennant Fire near Macdoel. The Forks Fire forced a mandatory evacuation of the community of Aspendall, while smoke from the Tennant Fire led to
traffic escort restrictions along Highway 97.
In Colorado, a brush fire that ignited Sunday evening prompted the closing of a portion of
I-70 between Fruita and Loma Sunday night and again Monday. More fires like these
could ignite throughout the week as
high pressure over the West keeps the
region hot and dry for the most part.
In some areas where there is just enough moisture, especially over the Sierra, Intermountain West and northern Rockies, isolated thunderstorms will
develop throughout the week. Moisture is expected to be limited enough that the storms will produce little or no rainfall. Thus, dry
lightning strikes could pose an additional threat for sparking wildfires.
Storms developing over the Four Corners region, however, will pose more of a
flash flood
threat this week. There will be enough moisture in place across these regions to allow storms to produce a quick half inch to inch of rain, which can
easily cause flash flooding in normally-dry desert locations
There were several reports of
flash flooding around Mt. Charleston, Nev., Monday with water
covering roadways. Even in Downtown
Las Vegas, it only took
0.10 to 0.50 of an inch of rain to cause ponding on roadways. Local media outlets reported several inches of standing water in the lower level of the
Imperial Palace parking lot on the Las Vegas strip.
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