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Climate of 2008
Wildfire Season Summary

National Climatic Data Center
9 July 2008

June

Despite a relatively high fire danger across the southwestern U.S., and widespread dryness in 10-hr fuel moisture, June began with only four large fires in Florida and one in western Texas.  By mid-June most of the large fires in Florida had been contained, but several new large fires flared up in Northern California and the Southern Plains.  Additional large fires were reported in Nevada, Utah, Alaska and West Virginia.  Unfortunately, by the end of the month numerous large fires were raging in Northern California and Arizona, many due to lightning strikes.  Several large fires were also being battled in other western states, as well as the western Carolinas, Alaska and Louisiana.

Although drought conditions have improved slightly in North Dakota and western Alaska since the end of May, conditions have worsened across the West, South and Southeast U.S., with many areas transitioning from moderate or severe to extreme or exceptional drought through June.  Hawaii and southern Puerto Rico continued to experience substantial moisture deficits, and parts of New England were also abnormally dry as of the end of the month.

As of June 30th, there have been 36,761 wildland fires and more than 2.1 million acres burned so far this year, according to the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC). Thanks in part to June rainfall and the efforts of fire fighters, the year 2008 now ranks third behind 2006 and 2002 in quantity of acreage burnt to date — down from second at the end of May — and the number of fires falls well below the 1998-2008 average. Approximately 466 large fires have been contained to date in 2008.

Through the month of June, fire danger, which had been high at the end of May, greatly diminished across New Mexico and western Texas.  However, by the middle of the month, fire danger began to increase across the Great Basin and worsen in Colorado, Arizona and Southern California.  At the end of the month, fire danger was highest across Nevada and Southern California, with the highest danger around Las Vegas, Nevada, according to the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) - Wildland Fire Assessment System.

According to the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) Experimental Fire Potential Index, large portions of the western United States, stretching from Washington and Idaho south to Southern California and western Arizona, exhibited the greatest potential for wildfire activity.  Although drought continues to impact the South and southeastern U.S., fire potential is relatively low in those regions.

2008 Wildfire Statistics (Source: NIFC)

Year-To-Date Totals as of June 30th	Nationwide Number of Fires	Nationwide Number of Acres Burned
6/30/2008	36,761	2,138,704
6/30/2007	46,171	1,849,642
6/30/2006	56,869	3,714,877
6/30/2005	30,079	1,880,076
6/30/2004	39,739	1,530,108
6/30/2003	26,880	728,615
6/30/2002	44,661	2,795,216
6/30/2001	40,806	1,080,332
6/30/2000	49,000	1,653,941
5-yr average (2004 - 2008)	41,924	2,222,681
10-yr average (1999 - 2008)	41,795	1,853,573

Dead fuel moisture levels remained critically low across portions of the West and Southwest during June. The 10-hour fuel moisture levels also dried out noticeably between June 8th and June 15th over much of the western United States. By June 30th, 10-hour fuel moisture levels had recovered slightly in parts of the Southwest, but dried out across portions of the western Central Plains and east into Wisconsin.

Medium to larger fuels (i.e., the June 30th 100-hr and 1000-hr fuel moistures) continued to be dry across most of the central and southern states of the western U.S., and showed substantial drying across the western and north-central parts of the U.S. from the start of the month.

The Keetch-Byram Drought Index (KBDI), a widely used drought index for fire risk, showed continuation of fire risk across Nevada and much of southern and western Texas, but improved conditions at the end of June for Florida, as compared to the June 8th KBDI.

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May

At the beginning of May, wildfires continued to burn in the Southwestern U.S., as well as in central California, Florida, and the Southern Appalachians. Several large arson-suspected fires erupted in the middle of the month in Florida and the Southeast. May closed with only three large fires in Florida and one in western Texas. No large fires were reported in Alaska during May.

Long-term moisture deficits have continued to maintain moderate to severe drought conditions across portions of the southern and western United States, including California, Florida, Texas, and the Oklahoma panhandle. Western North Dakota also experienced severe to extreme drought conditions as of the end of May.

As of June 9th, there have been over 28,000 wildland fires and more than 1.5 million acres burned so far this year, according to the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC). The year 2008 ranks second behind 2006 in quanity of acreage burnt to date, though the number of fires falls well below the 1998-2008 average.

The persistence of moderate-to-severe drought conditions across parts of the West has aided in perpetuating a region of extreme fire potential across parts of the Southwest, according to the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) Experimental Fire Potential Index.

At the end of May, high to very high fire danger was observed across parts of Arizona, New Mexico, southeastern California and west Texas. Adequate precipitation has reduced the fire potential across the southern Atlantic States that had existed in April.

2008 Wildfire Statistics (Source: NIFC)

Year-To-Date Totals as of June 9th	Nationwide Number of Fires	Nationwide Number of Acres Burned
6/09/2008	28,690	1,562,878
6/09/2007	41,448	1,442,932
6/09/2006	44,751	2,682,263
6/09/2005	25,835	453,472
6/09/2004	33,611	574,797
6/09/2003	22,714	426,583
6/09/2002	33,247	1,313,713
6/09/2001	35,120	741,282
6/09/2000	44,169	1,200,506
6-yr average (2003 - 2008)	34,867	1,343,268
11-yr average (1998 - 2008)	35,231	1,124,934

Dead fuel moisture levels remained critically low across portions of the West and Southwest during May. The 10-hour fuel moisture levels also dried out noticeably between April 28th and May 20th over portions of the central and southeastern United States. By June 8th, 10-hour fuel moisture levels were exceptionally dry throughout much of the western U.S., and the eastern U.S. had become substantially drier. Only portions of the Great Lakes and the northern Rockies remained relatively moist.

Medium to larger fuels (i.e., the June 8th 100-hr and June 8th 1000-hr fuel moistures) continued to be dry in the Southwest, while 100-hour moisture levels showed significant drying across the eastern United States since April 28th.

The Keetch-Byram Drought Index (KBDI), a widely used drought index for fire risk, showed a slight improvement in conditions across Nevada, but worsened conditions at the end of May for Texas and Florida, as compared to the April 28 KBDI.

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April

Wildfire activity continued in the southern Plains into April, with fires in Oklahoma, Nebraska, west Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. Additional fires flared in the central Gulf states and the central Appalachian mountains. The southern Plains and southwest continued to be a hotspot for fire activity into the middle of the month, and additional fires occurred at Friday Creek, Alaska, Hughett, Oregon and the Florida Panhandle. By the end of April the majority of fires in the southern Plains states had been contained, while new fires developed in the southwest and the mountains of eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina.

Long-term moisture deficits have continued to maintain moderate to severe drought conditions across large portions of the western and southeastern U.S. in late April.

As of May 7th, there have been over 21,000 wildland fires and more than 1.3 million acres burned so far in 2008, according to the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC). The year 2008 ranks second behind 2006 in quanity of acreage burnt to date, and is nearly twice the 2001-2008 average.

The persistence of moderate-to-severe drought conditions across parts of the West have aided in developing a region of extreme fire potential across parts of the Southwest, according to the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) Experimental Fire Potential Index.

At the end of April, high to very high fire danger was observed across parts of Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, and west Texas. In addition, moderate to high fire danger existed across the Atlantic states from northeastern Georgia to southern Virgina.

2008 Wildfire Statistics (Source: NIFC)

Year-To-Date Totals as of May 7th	Nationwide Number of Fires	Nationwide Number of Acres Burned
5/07/2008	21,121	1,342,963
5/07/2007	26,410	555,258
5/07/2006	37,383	2,328,258
5/07/2005	20,801	292,309
5/07/2004	26,177	388,676
5/07/2003	15,413	353,524
5/07/2002	25,156	489,759
5/07/2001	25,644	501,518
5/07/2000	31,415	791,236
6-yr average (2003 - 2008)	26,378	981,584
9-yr average (2000 - 2008)	25,935	774,275

Dead fuel moisture levels continued to dry out across the Southwest during April. The 10-hour fuel moisture levels on April 28th were exceptionally dry throughout much of the western U.S., with the Southwest being extremely dry.

Medium to larger fuels (i.e., the April 28th 100-hr and April 28th 1000-hr fuel moistures) were also very dry, with the driest fuel conditions extending from Southern California up through Nevada and across to west Texas.

The Keetch-Byram Drought Index (KBDI), a widely used drought index for fire risk, continued to have the largest potential for wildland fire activity in the contiguous U.S. across portions of the Great Basin, southwest Texas and New Mexico, as well as over portions of south Florida.

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March

Fire activity that developed across the southern Plains in February persisted into early March, as numerous large blazes burned range and grasslands in Texas and Oklahoma.

Wildfire activity also impacted the central Gulf Coast region, and spread eastward into the Tennessee Valley and the Mid-Atlantic region later in the month.

Long-term moisture deficits have continued to maintain moderate to severe drought conditions across large portions of the western U.S. in late March. These conditions across the West have persisted into early April, as seen in the U.S. Drought Monitor from April 8.

As of April 4th, there have been over 12,000 wildland fires and more than 1 million acres burned so far in 2008, according to the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC).

The persistence of moderate-to-severe drought conditions across parts of the West have aided in developing a region of extreme fire potential across parts of the Southwest, according to the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) Experimental Fire Potential Index.

At the end of March, high to very high fire danger was observed across parts of Arizona, New Mexico and west Texas, with fires burning into early April in the Texas Panhandle. In addition, the fire danger was moderate across parts of Pennsylvannia and New York at the end of March.

2008 Wildfire Statistics (Source: NIFC)

Year-To-Date Totals as of March 28th	Nationwide Number of Fires	Nationwide Number of Acres Burned
3/28/2008	11,088	516,243
3/28/2007	15,936	254,827
3/28/2006	19,116	1,812,628
3/28/2005	9,253	130,797
3/28/2004	13,658	150,630
3/28/2003	7,223	91,712
3/28/2002	14,718	200,752
3/28/2001	14,412	266,547
3/28/2000	20,346	569,567
6-yr average (2003 - 2008)	13,810	573,025
9-yr average (2000 - 2008)	12,651	498,718

Dead fuel moisture levels have dried-out across the Southwest during March. The 10-hour fuel moisture levels on March 30th were exceptionally dry throughout most of New Mexico, western Colorado and southern Arizona.

Medium to larger fuels (i.e., the March 31st 100-hr and March 31st 1000-hr fuel moistures) were also very dry, with the driest fuel conditions across southern Arizona, New Mexico and west Texas.

The Keetch-Byram Drought Index (KBDI), a widely used drought index for fire risk, had the largest potential for wildland fire activity in the contiguous U.S. across portions of the Great Basin, west Texas and New Mexico, as well as over portions of south Florida.

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Questions?

For all climate questions other than questions concerning this report, please contact the National Climatic Data center's Climate Services Division:

Climate Services and Monitoring Division
NOAA/National Climatic Data center
151 Patton Avenue
Asheville, NC 28801-5001
fax: 828-271-4876
phone: 828-271-4800
email: questions@ncdc.noaa.gov

For further information on the historical climate perspective presented in this report, contact:

Karsten Shein
NOAA/National Climatic Data center
151 Patton Avenue
Asheville, NC 28801-5001
fax: 828-271-4328
email: Karsten.Shein@noaa.gov

-or-

David Levinson
NOAA/National Climatic Data center
151 Patton Avenue
Asheville, NC 28801-5001
fax: 828-271-4328
email: David.Levinson@noaa.gov

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